To Play Games
by TouchofPixieDust
Summary: Kagome was still out there. She was armed, and doing her best to take him down.
1. The Hunt

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

The Hunt

Inuyasha cursed Sango. Whatever powder she had used on him was blocking his sense of smell, keeping him from his prey. He tried sniffing again. Nothing but that sickening sweet scent that overwhelmed his senses. He snarled, vowing to get even with her.

Lack of smell wouldn't keep him from his goal.

He would find her.

The dog demon dropped low to the ground, surveying the area. Three sets of footprints, four counting the kit's, spread out around the clearing. Glowering he studied where the smallest set of human prints were. She had raced frantically. No goal in mind. Running blindly.

He grinned. Good. Panic will make her make mistakes.

Closing his eyes, Inuyasha listened. Really listened. He filtered through the sounds of the forest until he could hear the breathing and heartbeats of three people. Three? There should be four. Inuyasha snapped his eyes open and growled again.

The monk was hiding her behind a barrier.

Sango took away his sense of smell, now Miroku was hindering his hearing. What was left? His strength alone wouldn't locate her. His speed was useless until he spotted her. His lips twisted into an evil smirk… WHEN he spotted her. He would find her, after all. There was no way she was reaching the well. NO WAY. She was HIS.

Suddenly he saw a flash of green and white. Kagome was making a break towards the well! Quickly Inuyasha spun around and darted after her. Just as quickly he skidded to a halt. That BRAT would have to remember to hide his tail next time he decides to take on Kagome's form.

She must be getting nervous if Shippo was being sent out as bait. He must be close.

Prowling around the clearing he looked more canine than man. She was hiding just beyond the clearing, but he couldn't tell which direction. He sent murderous thoughts towards the monk and the demon slayer. It was their fault he couldn't detect her.

He closed his eyes. They had taken away most of his senses, but there was one that they couldn't take away. He listened with his soul, his heart. And suddenly he could feel her. Somehow he could feel the girl. He smirked. This game was almost over. He would be victorious.

Inuyasha turned to the right slightly, his eyes locating her position hidden behind thick brush. He sprang in her direction.

"Hiraikotsu!"

Skidding to a stop, he barely managed to dodge the bone boomerang. He turned long enough to scowl at Sango before taking off in Kagome's direction.

"Run Kagome!" the monk yells. "Wind Tunnel!""

The strong wind threatens to sweep Inuyasha off of his feet. Cursing he thrust his sword into the dirt and held on. Momentarily his eyes flashed red, then he leapt into the air towards Miroku. With one blow he knocks the monk unconscious.

There was no time to gloat over his small victory, after all, there was still a schoolgirl to catch.

Pop!

Pop pop pop pop!

Suddenly there were a dozen Kagome's running through the clearing. _Keh, useless idiot fox. Without the barrier I can hear which one has a heartbeat._

And that heart was racing.

Quickly he picked out the real Kagome and gave chase, once more dodging the bone boomerang.

Two and a half years of running through the Feudal Era might have made Kagome fast, but not as fast as a determined hanyou. Within seconds he had caught up to her. He tackled her from behind, watching in satisfaction as her fingers barely missed the safety of the well.

"Ooof!"

"You lose," he breathed into her ear. "I win."

Kagome huffed and pushed at the dog demon to get him off of her. But it is nearly impossible to move a hanyou who doesn't want to move. And just at that moment, he was perfectly happy sitting on her stomach.

"Yes! You win! Now get off of me!"

Reluctantly Inuyasha moved off of her stomach and sat beside her.

"Now what?" he asked.

He watched as Kagome stood up and brushed the dirt and grass off of her skirt.

"Now, it's my turn. I'm IT. You guys hide and I'll count to twenty."

"No peeking!" Inuyasha warned, much in the same way she had warned him a few minutes earlier.

With a light heart, possibly from the thrill of winning, Inuyasha dashed away. He watched as Sango hid, and Miroku hid suspiciously close to her. He also noted where Shippo went. The kit wasn't trying to hard to hide. Obviously he wanted to be the first one Kagome found.

He listened to Kagome count and smiled. He was actually enjoying himself. He wasn't worrying about jewel shards or revenge. He was playing.

"Twenty! Ready or not, here I come!"

Inuyasha kept his eyes trained on her as she scanned the trees and rocks. He was enjoying the game she called 'Combat Hide and Seek'. She had told him that they had played a tamer version of the game when she had been a child.

This wasn't the first game Kagome had introduced him to. She taught him how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors, where she teamed up with him and Shippo against Sango and Miroku. She had taught him how to play Go Fish and Old Maid. Kagome brought fun into his life. More fun than he had ever imagined.

There were no games for a young orphaned hanyou who had to spend all of his energy to just survive. A half-breed hated by everyone, accepted by no one. Even the woman who spoke of spending her life with him so long ago hadn't accepted him for what he was. But Kagome did.

Kagome loved him as a hanyou. She told him that once. They didn't talk about the kiss at Kaguya's castle or how he almost lost the human part of himself. They didn't talk about her confession of love or his promise to stay a half-demon a little longer for her. But sometimes at night, over the campfire, he could see her remembering. Unfortunately, Inuyasha frowned, he was much better with his sword and claws than with words and emotions.

A high pitched squeal brought his attention back to the present. Shippo had been found. Not that the kit had been hard to find with his bright colored tail sticking out from behind the rock, twitching.

The kit had it easy. He was allowed to express his love for the miko with gusto. Inuyasha was jealous. Not so much of the attention the kit received, but by how easy the runt made showing emotions look. He glared over to where Miroku and Sango sat. _Those two don't make it any easier._ Their undisguised attempts at getting him to admit his feelings to Kagome just made things all the more awkward.

Miroku's wandering hand and Sango's automatic response made them easy for Kagome to find. Inuyasha smiled when he heard her laughter.

That was something else she brought him. Laughter.

Silently he moved to a position where he could watch her more closely. She was hunting for him. She was trying to use her pathetic human hearing to listen for him. Then she closed her eyes.

Inuyasha watched as her face lit up into a smile and looked in his direction.

He was dumbfounded. She sensed him?

Leaping into the clearing he shook his fist at her. "You cheated! You used your stupid miko powers!"

She laughed merrily. "Didn't hear that as part of the rules, dog boy. You're mine now!"

Inuyasha jumped back as she lunged for him, unable to stop his grin. _Hers huh?_ Another jump back and he darted towards the well, home base Kagome called it.

He looked back to see her chasing him.

_Maybe,_ he thought to himself, _maybe I'll let her catch me._

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Rules for Hide and Seek:

The person who is "It" covers their eyes and counts to a pre-determined number, such as twenty or one hundred. The remaining players hide. Once the count if finished, "It" yells "Ready or not, here I come!" Once "It" finds a hidden player, their name and position is called out. The player then must race to home base. If the player reaches home base before they are caught, the previous caught players are then freed. Once all players are freed, then "It" must close their eyes and count again. If the last player is caught before reaching home base, then they become "It".

Variations for playing with hanyous and demons:

Combat Hide and Seek:

All players are allowed to use hidden weapons or powers to dull the more powerful senses of the hanyou or demon to make the game more fair when playing with humans. When a player has been found and are racing to the home base, players who have already lost may assist the remaining players reach safety by using force if necessary.

Author's Notes: Originally the chapter was a self-contained one chapter story and was posted under the title 'The Hunt'. However, since I've decided to continue the story a bit, I gave the story a whole new name.


	2. War

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

War

Inuyasha studied his adversary. She was calm and cool, though she was highly amused, he could tell. No matter how hard she tried, she was never able to hide her emotions from him. Sadness, joy, anger… especially anger… even love, he knew them all. It was more than facial expressions or body language, though even those she could not hide well. He could actually sense and smell her emotions.

But he wouldn't be able to win this war by reading her emotions this time. No, this was more than skill and trickery, this was all about power and luck. The others had been defeated, now it was only the two left.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, glancing towards her beaten comrades, lying unmoving beside the fire.

He glared before giving her a curt nod.

Quickly she divided up the ammunition until they each had an equal pile. She took her time straightening hers up. The hanyou thought that perhaps this was an intimidation tactic, so he straightened up his pile as well. She was more knowledgeable and had the upper hand, he knew that even though it didn't sit well with him.

"Ready?" she asked.

He gave her another terse nod.

Two – Five, Kagome wins.

Seven – Nine, Kagome wins.

Jack – Four, Inuyasha wins.

Ace – Ace, it is war. Slowly Kagome and Inuyasha lay three cards face down next to their respective Aces.

"How can the Ace be the highest card?" Inuyasha growled as he set down his cards. "It's the smallest number, it can't be more powerful than the others. It doesn't make sense. It's stupid!"

Kagome shrugged and put her hand on the card at the top of her face down pile. "It's just the way it is."

"It's stupid."

"Hmmm… so you say. Just remember that it isn't the size of the warrior that is important, it's the strength. Remember when you defeated the dragon, Ryuukotsusei? It was a hundred times bigger than you, but you defeated it!"

"Keh." He blushed and turned his attention back to the cards. "Of course I did."

Together they put down their top face down cards.

Nine – Eight, Inuyasha wins.

Picking up the cards he looked through what he won. A two, four, seven, eight, Jack, Ace. He frowned. He didn't get the card he was looking for. He stuffed the cards face down at the bottom of his deck.

He knew that she was watching him closely. His frown deepened and he huddled closer to the ground. She opened her mouth several times over the next hour to ask him her question, a question he didn't really want to answer. He was glad she didn't ask... that way he didn't have to lie to her. Inuyasha was glad that their other companions were already asleep, they never balked at asking questions. The more embarrassing the question the more likely they were to ask it.

King – Jack, Inuyasha wins. He smirked. It was the king of spades, his card, and he just defeated the jack of hearts, Miroku's card. Perhaps a bit too happily he scooped up the cards and shoved them under his deck. He couldn't keep from smirking, even with playing cards he enjoyed defeating the monk.

Earlier in the day Shippo had been playing with the cards, giving each one of them their own card. Inuyasha was the king of spades, because of the sword. Sango was the queen of clubs, because, well, obviously because she clubs the monk on a regular basis. Miroku was the jack of hearts. Originally he was supposed to be the king of hearts, but after a discussion of how he would never win against Sango, it was decided he would be the jack. And the suit was hearts for obvious reasons. Kagome was the queen of diamonds because of the Shikon shard. She wanted to be the queen of hearts, but after a serious discussion between the fox kit and the half dog demon, they convinced her that she was to be the queen of diamonds. Shippo was the jack of diamonds, just because that's the suit he wanted to be. Everyone knew why though, it was a way of being close to Kagome, even if it was just as a card suit.

Jack – Ace, Kagome wins.

Another hour passed. Occasionally Kagome's pile would grow and his would shrink, then sometimes his would grow. He ignored her yawns. He did notice, however, that she didn't once ask to stop the game. He felt a little guilty that she was staying up so late to play with him. But she was playing with HIM. Not with him as one of the group, but just him. For this moment he didn't have to share her with anyone.

Queen – Queen, it is war. One by one they lay their cards face down. Inuyasha stared at the queen of diamonds. It was Kagome's card. Queen of spades against the queen of diamonds. He wanted that card. He didn't care if it made sense or not, he wanted the queen of diamonds.

Together they turned over their top face down card.

Four – Six, Kagome wins.

Inuyasha swears quietly and glares at the card. He watches as Kagome quietly straightens her deck, watching him covertly. He knows that she is aching to ask him a question, but instead of talking she sets down her next card.

Forty-five minutes pass without a word. Quickly and quietly they lay down their cards, Kagome's pile growing steadily larger.

Two – Two, war. Three cards were set face down. Inuyasha studied her deck carefully. His eyes had been following the card as it made its way through the deck again. It was laying face down. It would be his if he could win this war. She would be his.

Jack – Jack.

"What?"

Kagome stifles a yawn, dawn was not far off. Inuyasha fought against the guilt for keeping her up, but he didn't want to give up. He WOULD win her.

"What what?" she asks him.

"Who wins now?"

"Mmm… we do another war."

Inuyasha brightened. He had another chance. Nervously he set down his three cards. There weren't many left in his pile, only twelve cards, Kagome had the rest. Two of the cards in his pile were aces and one was a king. Where are the aces? He had been so focused on keeping track of the card that he wanted that he had forgotten the order of his own cards.

With a rapidly beating heart Inuyasha watched as Kagome turned over her card. It was the king of spades, his card. Almost invincible.

He turned over his card.

Ace of hearts.

Inuyasha wins.

Greedily he grabbed his newly won cards, his pile growing from twelve cards to twenty-one. He searched through the cards until he found her hiding beneath a three of clubs. The queen of diamonds.

"Feh, this is a stupid game. I don't want to play anymore."

Inuyasha tossed his cards to Kagome and hopped up into the tree. He listened to her mutter something about poor sportsmanship as she put the cards back into their little blue box. She yawned and stretched before she curled up in her sleeping bag and fell asleep. The sun would be rising soon, Inuyasha doubted that she would get even an hours sleep before it was time to start getting everyone up to continue on their journey. Likely she would be cranky for the rest of the day and have to be carried.

Keh.

Inuyasha sat in his tree and looked at the two cards in his hands. He liked looking at them side by side. Worriedly he looked at the yellow backpack. _How long will it take Kagome to notice the cards are gone? With as often as she likes to pull out the cards for us to play, it won't take very long, especially with that brat and his obsession with playing with them.._If he accidentally destroyed the rest of the deck she would never know they were missing. It was worth a sit or two for that.

Before falling asleep he looked once more at his spoils of war, then tucked them safely away.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Rules for WAR:

Two players:

Use a standard 52 card pack. Cards are ranked from high to low: A K Q J T 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. In this game the Ace is used as the highest card instead of the lowest. The suit of the card does not matter.

Deal each player an equal amount of cards, 26 each. The players do not look at their cards. They are kept in a pile face down.

Both players turn their top card face up and put them on the table at the same time. Whoever turned the higher card takes both cards and adds them (face down) to the bottom of their pile.

The next card is turned up. The object of the game is to win all the cards.

If the turned up cards are equal there is a **war **. The tied cards stay on the table and both players play the next card of their pile face down and then another card face-up. In some games there are three face down cards placed. Decide before the game which way to handle WAR. Whoever has the higher of the new face-up cards wins the war and adds all of the cards face-down to the bottom of their pile. If the new face-up cards are equal as well, the war continues: each player puts another card face-down and one face-up. The war goes on like for as long as the face-up cards continue to be equal. As soon as they are different the player of the higher card wins all the cards in the war.

The game continues until one player has all the cards and wins.

Rules for more than two players:

Deal an equal amount of cards to each player. Cards that are left over are set aside. The remaining game play is the same.


	3. Checkmate

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Checkmate

"What's this one do?" asked Shippo. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and grunted. The kit was awfully full of questions today. It took all of his self control to not hop down and bop the little pest on the head.

Kagome smiled warmly as she was placing the pieces on the board. "That's the Bishop. You can tell by his pointy hat."

"Is that like a monk? Like Miroku?"

"Errr…." she hesitated, "Both are holy men I suppose…"

Shippo peered at the chess piece closely. "It doesn't look like Miroku."

"Maybe if it had a hand permanently attached to another pieces a…"

"INUYASHA!" Kagome scolded. The fire in her eyes promised a long series of painful s-i-t-s if the dog demon dared to finish that sentence.

"Keh," he said rudely from his perch in the tree.

"He's right though," said Sango as she whacked the monk soundly over the head.

Even though Miroku had yet to do something perverted that evening … at least since she last smacked him… he obviously decided not to complain about the unfairness of her attack. Inuyasha suspected that he was happy with any contact the slayer gave him, though he'd never say that out loud. Besides the fact that the demon slayer could be very scary when crossed, he was sure that Kagome would agree with his assessment and they would spend the next week or two dissecting the relationship between Miroku and Sango.

And the last thing he wanted to do was discuss relationships. Usually it was interesting to hear Kagome talk about their two friends being in love but not knowing how to show it. Often she said things that hit too close to home. Sometimes he got the feeling that when they were talking about relationships that they weren't really talking about Sango and Miroku, or even her brother and his girlfriend.

But not tonight. Tonight was too close to the new moon, and that meant being human. And THAT meant that his stupid sissy emotional human side was getting stronger and would be tempted to actually discuss THEIR relationship if it was too fresh in his mind. Inuyasha wasn't quite ready for that just yet.

"I'm so misunderstood," Miroku mumbled.

"No. We understand you just fine, you lecher," Sango said as she went back to polishing her weapon. Kirara meowed her agreement and the rest of the group nodded.

Shippo put his finger on top of the Bishop and tilted him back and forth a bit, drawing attention back to himself. "How does the bishop move?"

Inuyasha watched as Kagome took the other bishop and ran it across the board. "It moves diagonally. See? And remember that if it has been placed on a red square originally, then it can only move along the red squares in a straight line. Same with black. And they can go as many spaces as you like across the board as long as there isn't another piece in the way. If it lands on an opponent's piece it captures it."

A good question would be why Kagome was explaining how chess pieces move to a fox in the Feudal Ages. Quite simple really. Last week she had been talking about a local chess competition that her younger brother was thinking of entering. Miroku had expressed interest in learning the game. So naturally Kagome had to go and find a travel set that she could bring with her. She had been explaining the rules to Miroku, but Shippo had been just as interested in the chess pieces. Inuyasha couldn't help but pay attention to the conversation. It wasn't that he was interested, but she was so loud how could you do anything BUT listen?

"And the horse?"

"That's the Knight, Shippo."

"But it's a horse's head, not a knight's head."

"Yes I know, but it is just supposed to represent the knight's horse. Do you remember how the knight moves?"

Shippo proudly grinned. "Yes! It moves two spaces forward and one space to the side."

"Stupid. It can also move two sideways and one forward." Inuyasha almost cringed once the words were out of his mouth. He peeked through the corner of his eyes to see Kagome's eyes focused on him. He watched as her mouth turned from a surprised O to a smile, then to an outright grin. _She isn't angry?_ Though he wasn't sure what made her so happy, he was just grateful not to be sat right out of the tree.

"Inuyasha is right, the knight has two ways of moving, but both start out two spaces then one. Even though it's not polite to call people names when correcting them."

Shippo stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha, who gave the kit a threatening glare and a gesture that promised death once Kagome's head was turned away. The kit let out a squeal and turned his attention back to the chessboard.

"What is the castle thing called again?"

Kagome giggled as she set the last piece in place. She waved Miroku over to sit on his side of the chessboard. "It's called the Castle. Though some people also call it the Rook. It has two names. And how does the Castle move?"

"Sideways?"

"…and…?"

Shippo tapped his chin thoughtfully. Inuyasha was getting fed up with the brat. He knew the kit knew what the pieces did, he was just trying to hog all of Kagome's attention by pretending to be stupid and cutesy.

"UP AND DOWN!" he yelled.

Again he was surprised when Kagome gave him a heart stopping smile instead of punishing him for yelling at the kit. Even Shippo seemed a bit surprised.

"Yes, the Castle goes horizontal and vertical."

Inuyasha watched as Kagome finished setting up the chessboard and nodded to Miroku to begin. He noticed that Shippo's questions about the pieces seemed to die down after Kagome's second smile to the dog demon. He also noticed that she kept stealing glances at him and grinning to herself. _What did I do to make her so happy_?

From the tree up above, golden eyes watched the pieces move across the board. Inuyasha hated to admit it, but the monk was quick to pick up the game. Miroku was even beginning to think up strategies to conquer Kagome. It was irritating listening to them play. Kagome would gasp when one of her pieces were taken off the board. But she always smiled and congratulated the conniving monk (who the idiot must not have noticed was trying to defeat her) on a good move. What was most bothersome was just how HARD the monk was working to defeat her.

"It's getting late," Inuyasha complained grouchily.

"I almost have her."

Inuyasha growled. "What?"

Miroku looked up with a wicked grin on his face. "My Queen, Bishop, and Knight are cornering Kagome's King. She'll be mine in only a few moves."

_He doesn't mean it like that. He means the game. He wants Sango, not Kagome. He is a dead man._ Before Inuyasha could slice the monk in half, Sango suggested that perhaps Miroku rephrase his statement, which he quickly amended.

"Why is the King so important?" asks a tired looking Shippo.

"Hmm?" Kagome looked up from the board. "Well, without the King the game is over. It may have fewer moves than the other pieces, but the whole point of the game is to protect the King."

Shippo grunted. "That's stupid. We should be protecting the Queen. The Queen is the most powerful after all. It should be the most important piece."

Miroku moved his Queen and put Kagome's King into check. She turned her attention back to the board. Inuyasha could see her eyes flitting about the board, looking for possibilities. She was nibbling on her bottom lip as she concentrated.

"The stronger one is supposed to protect. It doesn't need protection."

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Kagome's eyes moved from her King to him. Her head tilted a bit to the side and seemed to be studying him. Once again the miko was looking at him in a way that made him feel confused.

"The weak pieces are disposable," Miroku said as he gestured to the pieces of Kagome's laying off to the side of the board. "It makes more sense to place priority on the strong."

Inuyasha's eyes glowed amber and narrowed dangerously. He had to remind himself that the monk wasn't talking about Kagome being disposable. His claws dug deep gashes into the bark of the tree as he attempted to keep his temper.

"It just seems silly that all these stronger pieces have to work so hard to keep the King alive when it does so little. So far it looks like all it does is run and hide, letting the other pieces do all the fighting and take all the damage while it stays safely tucked away. Perhaps we could change the rules," suggested Sango.

"Yes," agreed Miroku. "We should make protecting one of the stronger pieces the object. Perhaps the Castle or the Bishop. We could just use the King like one of the Pawns, or even take it out of the game altogether."

"THERE IS NO POINT WITHOUT HER!" snarled Inuyasha.

Miroku turned to the dog demon. "You mean the Queen?"

"Keh, don't be stupid. I meant the King."

"You said 'her', not 'him', Inuyasha."

"Feh."

Miroku opened his mouth to make another comment when Kagome made her move with a flourish. Inuyasha was grateful that she took everyone's attention off of the little slip he made. The monk studied the board. With a grin he used his Bishop to sweep away Kagome's last Knight. Inuyasha was a little taken aback to hear the miko humming a happy tune under her breath with her eyes downcast.

Curious, Inuyasha hopped down from the branch and sat back on his heels to study the board as well. His ears twitched back and forth, listening to Kagome's faint humming and Miroku's not so subtle chuckling. The monk was certain that he was going to win.

Then Inuyasha noticed something important about the placement of the pieces. His eyes went from Miroku's King to Kagome's eyes. They were still downcast, but he could definitely make out that her lips were trying not to smile. Briefly she looked up, and he could see her eyes twinkling. He tried not the smile in return. He didn't want to give anything away. But he had the strangest feeling that she knew he knew what she was planning and it made her strangely happy. It gave him a funny feeling to know that they just had a shared conversation with no words. Not unpleasant though…

She moved her last pawn to the end of the board and asked for her Queen, the one Miroku had stolen from her several moves back. Inuyasha had expected questions from the curious little fox demon about how she was able to trade in a Pawn for the coveted Queen, but one glance towards the campfire let him know that he was already fast asleep on Kagome's sleeping bag.

Miroku's smile faded as he handed her the piece. His eyes moved from the Queen's placement to the locations of the other pieces on the board. Inuyasha was amused beyond words. He sat back and watched as Miroku began to panic.

"Bet you were wishing you had been paying more attention to protecting your King and less time attacking Kagome."

"Checkmate," the miko smiled sweetly.

"No," Miroku took his King and tried out several moves, but each was no use. "How is that possible?"

Inuyasha picked up the pawn that Kagome had used to get her Queen back on the board and tossed it up in the air, catching it in midair. "Maybe these 'disposable' and 'weak' pieces are more important than you think, monk."

Hopping back up into the tree Inuyasha watched as Miroku complained about his loss and went to Sango for comfort. Unfortunately for him the woman was already asleep with the fire cat curled up beside her. Then he watched as Kagome picked up the pieces and put them back neatly in the chessboard and folded it in half. It was interesting the way that the board was put together. When it was open it was a board, but when it was closed, it was a box that held the pieces. Kagome tucked it back into her backpack and got ready for bed.

"Good night, Inuyasha," she whispered. He grunted in reply.

He watched her as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. He watched until the fire had begun to burn itself out, leaving glowing embers that she sometimes says reminds her of his eyes. _She may not be the most powerful one, but she will be protected at all costs. _

After all, there really was no point without her.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Notes:

I have a fun time writing this particular story. Thanks for the reviews!

Rules for Chess:

Sooooo many rules for chess. I started writing them down then realized I'd be writing pages and pages of rules and still probably miss some. Basically, each piece has its own unique movements, and the goal is to protect the King. If you are sincerely interested in more rules, you can check out the rules online. There are several good sites online.


	4. Solitaire

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Solitaire

Ten of Clubs on Jack of Hearts. Jack of Hearts on Queen of Clubs. Inuyasha snickered. It never ceased to amuse him when Kagome played those cards. It felt like he was sharing a private joke with the miko, even though she didn't know it. He wondered if he was hanging around Miroku too much.

Watching her was soothing.

There were no demons around and the weak humans were too tired to continue on after their last couple of battles. Times like these were too few and far between. These quiet moments let him indulge in the hope that one day they could be like this, without the battles or the jewel forcing them together. Hope that even after this was all over she would still be there with him, playing games and smiling at him. Hope that she would keep her promise to stay by his side.

He would never keep her to that promise though. It was made so long ago, and she didn't really understand what it would mean. Allowing his gaze to flick to the other members of the group for a moment he thought about his other friends. They were an anomaly. This isn't how other people and demons treated a half breed. They would ostracize Kagome and their pups. They would be alone.

But they would be together.

Disgusted with himself he pushed the thought away. It wasn't fair of him to try and keep her. She would be happier if she left him when the jewel was completed. She would have a family she wouldn't have to be ashamed of. People wouldn't hate her or her children if she went back to her own time. Without him.

But Sango and Miroku don't hate her. Or Shippo.

Three of Diamonds on Four of Clubs.

_Could she be happy here?_ Inuyasha let the possibility sink in. Life without her was… unimaginable. _When did she become so important? When did she become my home?_ Could he let her go? From the moment she freed him he hadn't felt the heavy weight of loneliness. Now that he has known… known what it was like to have someone… could he possibly stand being alone again?

He watched as she straightened out the stacks and studied the cards that were face up. She said she was with me because she wanted to be. Life on the other side of the well was easier. There were stores that had food already prepared, televisions and radios to entertain her, microwaves and toasters, and so many other amazing things. Not to mention fast food restaurants and movies. _What does she have here?_

Sure she says she loves the smell of the air and walking through the woods. Sure she seems to enjoy helping people and healing. But it wasn't safe. There were demon attacks. Even without the jewel to search for they would still have to defend themselves against the demons. And she would get hurt.

Frowning, Inuyasha jumped down from his post in the tree and grabbed Kagome's ankle, startling the miko.

"Hey!"

"Feh, just checking your wound, idiot."

He was a bit surprised that she didn't complain as he unwrapped the bandage and inspected the wounds thoroughly. It felt… uncomfortable… touching her like this, especially since everyone was trying to look like they weren't watching. Once he was assured that the swelling was going down and the cut was healing without infection he let go of her ankle.

"It's no big deal," she tells him softly. "It barely hurts at all."

His ears flattened. She shouldn't be hurting at all. The thought of her falling off that cliff… it sent chills down his spine. Of course he saved her, but not before some damage was done to her shoulder and her leg when it hit the rocks and that stupid branch on her way down. It wasn't the first cliff she had fallen off of. Would he be able to save her every time? If they have pups would he be able to keep them all safe?

As he sat beside her, Inuyasha recalled the time when she had fallen down into the river and had been swept away from him with that fool, he couldn't be bothered to try and remember his name. His uncanny resemblance to that other fool in her era made it really hard to think favorably of him. He had searched for her frantically. He hadn't even allowed himself to think of the possibility that she may… he couldn't even think of it now. But it could happen.

It just wasn't safe for her to be fighting, no matter how much they needed her. But it wasn't safe in her own time either. He'd seen how dangerous it could be first hand, not to mention the terrors he learned about when her mother had left the television on and he had seen the news. He couldn't send her back THERE without protection.

_So what should I do? Where will she be safe?_ He watched her movements carefully as she returned her attention back to the game. _With me._ A wave of protectiveness threatened to engulf him. He had to fight back his desire to keep her locked away somewhere where nothing could ever touch her or hurt her. She already thought he was too over-protective. What would she think if she knew just how much he was fighting his natural instincts?

"Four of Diamonds to Five of Clubs," Inuyasha murmured as he saw her studying the cards. Against his will he blushed at her smile.

He focused on the game before instincts took over and he decided to abduct the miko. Shippo was off coloring while Kirara sat still for him to draw, posing for the artist. Miroku and Sango were sitting on a log, both were pretending to clean their weapons. They didn't fool anyone. They just wanted an excuse to sit together. To be close. To maybe accidentally, sometimes not so accidentally, touch.

So Kagome played alone.

"It's a lonely game."

Surprised, Kagome turned to him. "Lonely?"

"You play it by yourself, alone. You said it's called 'solitaire', right? Even the name is lonely." He nudged the eight of spades so she would pick it up and glanced at the nine of hearts meaningfully. "Why do you play it?"

She shrugged. "Everyone else was busy. I'm actually caught up on homework, so I thought I'd relax and play a game."

"No," he shook his head, "Why do you know that game at all? You're never alone. At home you have you family and at school you have your friends. You always have someone to play with. You shouldn't know a game like this."

Feeling like he was starting to babble he snapped his mouth shut. Kagome was looking at him with that strange look again, the one that said she was trying to read his mind.

"I was very lucky," she admitted, "I have my family and I have my friends. But there were times when I've had to be alone." She bit her lip, looking away from him for a moment. When she looked back she had a lopsided, sad little smile on her face. Inuyasha wished he hadn't said anything at all.

"When my dad… died… Mama was so sad. She loved him very very much. For the longest time she didn't really feel like playing. And of course since Souta was a baby he was too young to play with me. Grandpa taught me to play this game. It helped take my mind off of what was going on. It didn't make me less sad or make me miss my dad less, but it did make me a little less lonely. I focused on the cards, only concentrating on what the next move was going to be. In a way it was almost mind numbing." She gave him a warmer smile. "But I started playing it sometimes when I was bored or if I was trying to keep myself from being worried about a test or something. It's pretty good about taking my mind off of my worries."

Shrinking down a little Inuyasha frowned. It was bad enough that he felt so guilty for bringing back sad memories, but now he knew that she was trying to numb her brain against worries. Probably worries he caused. _Or was too slow to prevent._ Visions of Kagome disappearing over the edge of the cliff haunted him.

"Are you worried?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

"I won't let you die."

Turning to him she gave him another smile. It was warm, but a little confused. "I know you won't. I trust you."

"Ten of Clubs on Nine of Hearts."

To his horror, Kagome began scooping up the cards and stacking them all back up into a pile, ending her game early even though she still had cards she could play. His ears flattened and he looked away, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I was just tryin' to help," he growled.

Leaning back, Kagome reached into her pack and drew out another deck of cards. Before he could blink she chucked them at him. Not even bothering to dodge them he let the deck hit him in the chest and fall into his lap. He watched as she merrily shuffled her cards and began dealing out the game again. When she was finished she looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

"You're playing with me."

"But… its Solitaire… you can't play it with someone…stupid…"

She grinned. "Ah, but you can play Double Solitaire. Start shuffling and dealing out those cards, Dog Boy."

Still a bit confused at the turn of events, Inuyasha shuffled the cards and started laying out the cards. One card face up and six cards face down. He looked at her again to make sure she was serious about this. When he saw her waiting he shrugged and finished laying out the hand. Sometimes it was useless trying to figure the girl out.

"Now what?"

"In regular Solitaire you put your Aces at the top, the foundation piles. You build it up from Aces to Kings. When all your cards on in the foundation pile you win."

"Feh, I know that. I'm not stupid."

"Hmm." She gave him a skeptical look. He snarled. She giggled. Then she pat him on the head and told him he was a good boy, a phrase which never ceased to annoy him. It played on one of his other fears, the one where she thought of him as a dog and not as a man. It didn't matter that he knew she was being playful and teasing. If those ear rubs didn't feel so darn good he would put a stop to it immediately. Eventually she returned to her instruction of the game.

"In Double Solitaire it doesn't matter who put down what card in the foundation pile. If you put down an Ace of Clubs I can play my Two of Clubs on it. If we both have the Two of Clubs, whoever puts it down first gets to leave it there. The other person has to keep it in play until the next Ace of Clubs is set down. Does that make sense?"

"It's like the game War?"

"Yeah, you can think of it as War Solitaire."

The first hand was slow. The concept of War Solitaire made more sense than Double Solitaire. In the beginning Inuyasha slapped down the cards into the foundation piles like they did in War. Eventually he began noticing that Kagome would study his layout then her own. Then she did the most amazing thing… she fed cards into the foundation that she knew would help him out.

At first Inuyasha was angry. He didn't like to be coddled or pitied. The second time he caught her doing it he almost threw down his cards and leapt back into the tree. But her eyes kept him still. She was concentrating on the game, and there wasn't a trace of pity or condescension.

"The game isn't about winning against each other… is it?"

She shrugged. "You can play it like that."

"But you're not." His eyes glowed golden as he studying her as she focused on her cards. She was still playing to win, he could tell. No one concentrates THAT hard and isn't trying to win.

Placing another card into the foundation she glanced at him. "If we both get all of our cards out there, then WE win."

Not War Solitaire… it was Double Solitaire. They weren't playing against each other. They were playing WITH each other, against the world. Or at least this game.

He smiled. A real smile.

He really liked that thought.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Notes:

Unlike my other stories, this one is only updated sporadically. That's because it is almost a set of one shots (I know that's not a good term since if there is more than one it can't be one) that are all based on games. It's not necessarily plot based. So new chapters are created when inspiration hits… or I can think of a good game that they would likely play.

Rules for Solitaire:

There are many versions of Solitaire. The traditional game of Solitaire that I grew up playing is actually called Klondike 

This solitaire uses one deck (52 cards). Twenty-eight cards are dealt from the deck into the 7 tableau piles with the number of cards per pile increasing from one to seven from left to right. The top card is face up, the rest face down.

The object of the game is to move four aces to the foundations as they become, and to build the foundations up in suit from Ace to King.

Top cards of tableau piles and waste pile are available to play.

You can build tableau piles down by alternate color. One card or group of cards in the proper sequence can be moved from pile to pile. If during the play any of closed cards become the top card of a stack it turns over. Empty tableaus may be filled with a King or group of cards headed with a King.

When you have made all the available plays on the board, begin turning over cards from stock. 3 cards at a time are turned over from the Stock. You can move cards from stock pile to the tableau piles and to the foundations according to the rules mentioned above.

You have two redeals. Though some people play with only having one redeal while others play with unlimited redeals.

I don't know if Double Solitaire is an official game, but it is one I played with my grandmother when I was a kid. There were even a couple of times when we played Triple Solitaire, which is more like War Solitaire in my opinion.

FreeCell is another favorite of mine… but since they don't play it in the story…


	5. Kagome a Killer?

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Clue belongs to Parker Brothers, but this story belongs to me.

Kagome…A Killer?

"Kagome is the murderer."

Inuyasha growled at Miroku's accusation. Only moments before, Sango made a similar statement, though she had a different theory on what Kagome used as a murder weapon. Even the kit had named her a murderer! How dare they? How DARE they! How could anyone accuse Kagome of murder? There was no way!

"Kagome didn't kill no one, monk! So shut yer trap."

"Do you have proof otherwise?" asked an infuriatingly calm Miroku.

Inuyasha snarled at the question. The monk knew good and well that he didn't have 'proof'. Sango had asked that same question earlier. Unfortunately, in the three minutes since the question was last asked, he still had no proof.

"It is hard to imagine that our Kagome could be such a cold hearted murderer… such a shame."

Miroku's feet dangled almost a foot off the ground as he found himself lifted by the front of his robes to come face to fang with a very irate half dog demon. Somehow he still managed to keep his aura of calmness even while facing certain doom.

"She is not OUR Kagome, monk. She's mi… she's not yours." He gave Miroku a little shake. "And if you ever call her a cold hearted murderer again I will tear out your guts and feed them to you until you choke! Got it?"

"But Inuyasha…"

"Just say you understand, Miroku!" ordered Sango.

The monk smiled serenely, which was quite a feat considering his teeth were rattling from all the shaking. "Of course, I understand, Inuyasha."

The hanyou snorted and let go of the monk. Dropping sulkily to the ground he looked around at his friends. Sango was scolding Miroku for baiting him. Miroku was protesting, saying he was innocent of all wrong doings. Shippo was telling Kirara that the monk was an idiot who would never learn. And Kagome… well… she had ducked her head down so he couldn't see her eyes. But he could see that her bottom lip was between her teeth as she struggled not to… cry? Smile? Laugh? Sniffing the air, he ruled out crying. There wasn't a whiff of salty tears in the air.

_So the question is… is she laughing AT me or at them? _Her eyes were sparkling in merriment as she finally looked up at him. Hmmm. It was still difficult to tell.

"Inuyasha, don't take Miroku so seriously. It is just a game, remember?" She turned to Miroku and looked at him sternly. "And YOU! It would help us all out if you remembered to say Mrs. Peacock instead of Kagome. Got it, Professor Plum?"

Miroku smiled innocently. "Of course, Kagome."

"Mrs. Peacock," she reminded him.

Satisfied that Miroku got the scolding instead of him, Inuyasha looked at his cards again. He tried to remember which cards he already exposed when he was questioned earlier in the game. He didn't want to give them any new information if possible. Kagome taught him that.

He smiled. Kagome had spent a good deal of time explaining the game to all of them. But before the game started she told HIM some of her tricks to winning. Him. Not the others. HIM! Show as few of cards as possible, always remember which ones you have already exposed. Take note of who asks what questions to figure out what is in THEIR hands. The trick is to figure out what three cards are hidden in the little envelope in the middle of the board. Who killed Mr. Boddy? With what? And where?

"Well, Colonel Mustard?" asked Miroku again. "Do you have proof of her innocence?"

Inuyasha growled and swore. "No. But she didn't do it!" He shielded his card with his hand so that the others couldn't see and showed it to Miroku.

"Only Miroku needs to know which suggestion you are disproving, Inuyasha. Saying it out loud lets everyone know," whispered Kagome.

"Good," he huffed. She gave him that enigmatic smile again, the one that got him wondering what in the world she was thinking. The one that made him wish everyone else was gone so he could figure it out. Figure her out. Figure out what the heck it was he felt whenever she gives him that smile.

Sango rolled the dice, but did not have enough to go into a room, though she seemed to be heading towards the Lounge. Shippo rolled next. He moved his green playing piece into the Library with a flourish.

"I suggest that the murder was Colonel Mustard," the kit said as stuck out his tongue. "He killed him in the Library with the lead pipe."

Kagome slipped him a card face down with a quiet reminder to play nice. Everyone made little tic marks on their pieces of paper as Kagome picked up the dice. She rolled a three. Laughing about how long it would take her to get to the next room, she picked up the dice and placed them in Inuyasha's hand.

The smile she gave him made his heart do a curious little flip flop. He rolled the dice and moved. He didn't have enough to move into a room either, so he passed the dice along. He was disappointed. He was much too far away from the Billiard Room. And he really needed to get there. He was certain that the Billiard Room was where the murder took place. This time he had to win. So far Miroku and Kagome both won a game each, and it had been declared that this was the last game before bed. He HAD to win.

"I can't believe you didn't 'sit' Inuyasha for throwing away the Miss Scarlet game piece," said Shippo as he studied the board.

"Yes," Miroku said as he passed the dice along. "I am surprised as well. It was perhaps the nicest piece in the game."

"Pervert," mumbled Sango as she rolled.

"Kagome wasn't going to be Miss Scarlet," growled Inuyasha. "Did you see what she was wearing?"

"MMMmmm… yes." He cleared his throat. "But Sango could have been Miss Scarlet."

"Sango would NOT have," the demon slayer countered. "It was positively indecent!"

Kagome giggled as she studied her sheet of paper where she was taking notes. "Oh Sango, lots of women in my time wear clothes like that. Sometimes even less!"

The camp got so quiet that Kagome had to look up. Sango and Inuyasha were looking at her in absolute horror. Miroku's smile was… well… it certainly didn't hide his interest in the topic. Inuyasha's blood boiled as Miroku's eyes flicked from the picture on the box to Kagome.

"It's a pretty dress," said Shippo. "Have you ever worn a dress like that?"

Kagome laughed nervously. Sango was still looking horrified. Miroku still looked like he was thinking lecherous thoughts. But Inuyasha's expression had changed from horror to… something a little… darker.

"Heh heh… well, Shippo… sometimes women in my time wear dresses like those to parties or special occasions. Sometimes on dates, depending on where they are going."

Inuyasha growled, lowering his head slightly so that his eyes were shadowed by his bangs. "Answer Shippo, Kagome. Have YOU ever worn a dress like that?"

"Yes, I have."

The camp was prepared for Inuyasha to erupt. Shippo was low to the ground with his hands over his head. Sango leaned back, almost casually, so that her fingers rested on her bone boomerang. Miroku was staring at him with that same calm expression. It was probably better for his health to do that than to even glance at Kagome.

Inuyasha's claws dug into the dirt. He couldn't look at her. Who had she worn that dress for? Who was so important in her life that she would wear something that showed so much… that didn't hide… that was… that was… Inuyasha growled again as he tried to rein in his temper. Part of him wanted to rage against the unfairness of it. Part of him wanted to howl in sorrow. His heart ached. His soul felt empty.

Had he waited too long to claim Kagome as his? Had he lost her? Did she choose someone in her own time to be her mate? Someone human?

Had they kissed? Had they touched?

More?

He closed his eyes against the pain. He couldn't think about 'more'. Heck, he couldn't even bear the thought of her kissing or touching any other male. Just Kouga touching her hands made him go ballistic!

_What should I do? Is it too late? Am I too late? Could I survive if I lost her?_ He didn't think that he could. She was his home. She was the hope and the light in his life.

"Why? Why would you wear something like that?"

Kagome laughed again. "You don't have to sound so disgusted, Sango. My mother's friend was getting married and asked me to be in the wedding. She's the one who picked out the dress." She laughed again. "My mother would have a conniption fit if I tried leaving the house in a dress like that for anything else. She even made me wear a coat over the dress while we drove to the church. And it was SUMMER!"

The knot in Inuyasha's chest loosened. Relief made his body go weak.

"Whose turn?" asked Kagome.

The game continued, and Inuyasha inched towards the Billiard room, glad to have something to think about besides the dress and his reaction. Instead he concentrated on the game. He had figured out the where and the what. He was certain the murder took place in the Billiard Room. And he was certain the Candlestick was used. But he wasn't certain of the killer. He knew where most of the people cards were. All but two. And one of them was Kagome's card.

He wondered who had her card. Then he wondered what she looked like in that dress.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?"

Kagome frowned. "Are you okay? I've called your name four times now. I was about to say s-i-t to get your attention."

He prayed he wasn't blushing, and was infinitely grateful that no one in the group had mind reading abilities. Quickly he grabbed the dice and dropped them on the board. Throwing the dice usually meant spending ten minutes hunting them down after they bounce off the board and into the darkness.

One, two, three, four, five, six spaces. Perfect!

"In the Billiard Room…"

"Is this an accusation or a suggestion?" asked Miroku.

"Accusation," Inuyasha snarled.

He wished that he could accuse Miroku of being the killer. He really did. Especially after the way he enjoyed accusing Kagome of the crime. But he was certain that Shippo had that card. The kit also had Mrs. White, Sango's card. Miroku had Mr. Green and Miss Scarlet. It wasn't tough to figure out that he had the woman in the red dress, either. Kagome had Colonel Mustard. Sango didn't appear to have a person card. So where was Mrs. Peacock and … and who? There are only six suspects. Mr. Green, Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Miss Scarlet, and Mrs. White. They are all accounted for. Everyone…. except… Kagome…

For a moment his ears drooped. Sure it was a game. But… there was no way… NO WAY… that he could accuse Kagome of being a murderer. He thought about tearing up the board and using it to fuel the campfire… but Kagome wouldn't be too pleased. He had pushed his luck destroying the little Miss. Scarlet figure.

"Anytime, Inuyasha," complained Sango. "Accuse or pass the dice."

The others knew it was Kagome. They KNEW. He watched Kagome's eyes drop to the little packet on the board. She knew it too.

"Colonel Mustard, in the Billiard Room, with the Candlestick. I win. Let's get some sleep." He scooped up the packed and dumped the contents of the game in the box.

"Colonel Mustard?" asked Shippo. "I thought for sure it was Mrs. Peacock."

"Well," said Sango, "I didn't have either one. Did you, Shippo?"

"Nope. Miroku?"

The monk gave Inuyasha a speculative look, before showing his cards to the group. "I did not have either card." He smiled at the group and suggested that they retire for the night.

Only when the others started getting ready for bed did the dog demon breathe easy. No one knew that he lied. Sure Miroku suspected, but he didn't know. Well… okay, so Kagome probably knew since she had his card… So far he had managed to not make eye contact with the miko. How was he going to explain that he had to protect her honor from a game? She would think he was insane. He sighed. _Maybe I am._ What other explanation was there?

Before he could stop her, Kagome took the game and all its pieces. Nervously the hanyou watched as she carefully stacked the cards and put away the little notebooks. He saw her pick up the packet with the three cards still inside. She bit her lip, smoothed her hand over the packet, and then put it in the box. Unopened.

Suspiciously Inuyasha watched her put the game back in her backpack.

"Good night, Inuyasha," she said sweetly as she tucked herself into her sleeping bag. She gave him another one of her smiles before cuddling Shippo and closing her eyes.

Inuyasha smiled. He had protected her, even if it was just from a silly board game. But she protected him too. She could have called him on the lie. She could have told the others. But she didn't. Even when they were questioning who had what card, she had quietly put hers down and out of sight. Kagome protected him.

He kind of liked that idea.

A lot.

"Good night, Kagome."


	6. All Tangled Up

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Twister belongs to Hasbro (though it used to belong to Milton Brothers Company in 1966), but this story belongs to me.

All Tangled Up

Never.

Never in a million years did he think he would find himself in this position.

Sure, maybe he had dreamed it occasionally. Once or twice he had even dared to hope. But he didn't think it would actually really happen. Things like this didn't happen to a hanyou. At least not while they were awake.

Inuyasha bends his head slightly, nose brushing her neck, and inhales deeply. Being so close to her was almost overwhelming. Every breath he took drew was heavily laced with her scent and made it difficult to think straight. Usually her scent was calming. Serene. But right at that very moment the dog demon didn't feel very calm or serene. Nope. Probably the farthest from calm that he had ever been in his life. He prayed that he wouldn't mess this up.

His arms trembled a little as he held himself up above her. His fingers brushed hers. His right leg crossed over her left. Taking a few breaths he tried to calm his racing heart beat. Stupid thing was behaving all erratically.

_How did I end up like this_? He wondered idly as he watched his breath moved the hair near her neck. It must have tickled, because she looked up at him and giggled. Then she moved her foot a little to left…

**Three hours earlier...**

"It's a stupid game," complained the hanyou.

"Aw, come on, Inuyasha," cooed Kagome, "It will be fun."

"Feh. It's a game for perverts."

The miko rolled her eyes. "It is not. Come play."

"No."

"Inuyasha…."

Inuyasha glared as Shippo hopped up onto Kagome's shoulder. "He's just a spoil sport," the kit said. "Ignore him"

"We can have fun without him," smiled Miroku. Though quite frankly, Inuyasha was not too pleased with that smile. In fact, it was the most infuriating smile he had ever seen in his life. And he certainly didn't want to think about any double meanings the lecherous monk may be thinking.

"We shouldn't even be wasting our time playing stupid games!" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at each one of them.

Sango stood up from where she was smoothing out the sheet of colorful plastic that Kagome brought with her.

"We were stopping for the evening anyhow, Inuyasha," she said in a reasonable tone of voice that was almost as infuriating as Miroku's smile. "There's nothing wrong with having a little fun before bed."

Inuyasha grimaced. _Great, now Sango sounds perverted too_.

It's all that game's fault.

Stupid game.

Stupid game full of inappropriate touching.

Stupid Miroku.

Does he HAVE to keep 'accidentally' touching Kag…er… the women? Did Kagome know that the game was just one big awful, not to mention incredibly stupid, opportunity for Miroku to touch them? He knew that his nerves were on edge. Come on, how could they not be? Every two seconds he was brushing against Ka… the women. Oh okay, Kagome. _Fine_, he admitted_, I don't want him touching Kagome. _ And he was doing a lot of touching Kagome. Too much. And if it didn't stop soon, the monk was going to die. It wouldn't be the wind tunnel or Naraku that sends him to an early grave, it would be a half crazed half dog demon.

Why did she have to bring Twister anyhow?

From his perch in the tree he watched as Shippo took the spinner and flicked the arrow to get it moving. He was too small to play with the others (couldn't reach more than two colored spots at one time), so he was in charge of the spinner and calling out directions. The kit seemed to get some sort of sadistic joy out of putting the others in awkward positions and watching them fall on each other. And Inuyasha didn't miss the sly glances to fox demon would send his way during particularly… interesting twists.

"Right foot red," Shippo announced.

Inuyasha kept a keen eye on Miroku as his foot crossed over Kagome's. So far there was still a little space separating them. _What was Kagome thinking?_ He had asked himself that question dozens of times. Every time anyone touched her, in fact.

"Left hand green."

There was a lot of laughter as Kagome nearly lost her balance. Inuyasha was hoping that she would fall, but she managed to regain her balance before she hit the ground. If she fell she would be out of the game. Then it would just be Sango and Miroku groping each other. _Come on… fall…._

"Right hand red."

The game was obviously some sort of torture devise. No one should be able to bend like that. It wasn't normal. Unless you are some sort of worm demon or something. And do they really HAVE to be so CLOSE together?

"Left foot blue."

Inuyasha held his breath as Kagome slipped her leg under Miroku's. He felt his blood began to boil. They really needed to stop this game before someone gets hurt. Or commits murder.

Maybe it was the growling. Or maybe it was being too close to temptation. But Miroku was the first to lose his balance. The monk was going to fall on Kagome. He was going to fall on her and she would be pinned beneath him. Well, he would have had Inuyasha not moved at the speed of light and pulled Kagome out of the way (perhaps saving the poor actually innocent for-the-first-time monk's life).

"Does this mean that Kagome loses?" laughed Miroku as he lay sprawled on the plastic mat.

"I win!" Sango yells triumphantly as she awkwardly maneuvered herself into an upright position..

"She didn't fall, did she?" sneered Inuyasha as he set her away from him. "So she didn't lose."

Miroku sighed dramatically, then mumbled something about cheating. That got him lifted from the mat and shaken until his teeth rattled.

Sango appeared behind Miroku, almost looking sympathetic. Almost. It was likely a tough internal battle of whether or not she would help him after how long it took his right hand to go to red and the very indirect path it had taken to get there. "He didn't mean that Kagome was a cheater," she tried to explain after deciding to spare his life. "He would never imply that she would cheat."

The gurgling sound from the monk sounded enough like an agreement that Inuyasha let him drop.

Kagome laughed merrily. "I don't know anyone who has ever been accused at cheating at Twister!" Her breath came in gasps as she continued to laugh. "I'm not sure it's even possible!" Sango laughed with her as she bent to help her pick up the mat.

"I don't know why you keep bringing these stupid games," Inuyasha complained loudly.

Kagome froze.

Inuyasha braced himself.

Shippo, Sango, Miroku, and Kirara watched with interest.

There was no bloodbath. No one was sat into a hanyou shaped grave. Nope. Instead Kagome simply fished out the cups of ramen and set about making dinner. It was a very quiet meal. Everyone, including Inuyasha, was expecting the miko to blow up. But she stayed oddly calm. It was rather unnerving.

"Bedtime," Kagome announced as she picked up the trash and packed everything away.

"But Kagome," whined Shippo, "It's too early for bed."

"Bedtime," she repeated.

Sango was the first to take the hint. She yawned loudly and exclaimed that it had been an exhausting day, and how they all needed their rest. Miroku was a little harder to convince than Shippo to go to sleep. Kagome stayed by the fire. That wasn't a good sign. Not at all. That meant that she wanted to talk without the prying eyes. Suddenly heading to bed seemed like a really good idea. Not that he wanted to intentionally avoid confrontation. No, of course not. He was just very… yawn… tired… Really…

"Let's take a walk," she suggested. If 'suggested' meant 'ordered'.

In silence they started walking. Kagome was carrying her bag. Inuyasha sighed inwardly, preparing himself for the oncoming fight. It was obvious that she was ready to head for home as soon as she 'sat' him. Convinced he was in the right, he took advantage of the silence to plan his defense. After all, he hadn't really done anything wrong. She couldn't get mad at him for asking a simple question. Right? Aw, who was he kidding, he knew that she would. He sighed again. She just got back from her time, he wasn't ready for her to go again.

Suddenly Kagome stopped walking. Inuyasha looked on silently as she studied the surrounding area critically. Eventually she was satisfied and turned to face him.

"Do you know why I bring the games, Inuyasha?"

He was a bit surprised that the question was asked without anger or sarcasm. It was an honest question.

"Yeah."

The corner of her mouth lifted before she made her face look empty again. But he caught the almost smile. He almost laughed at the thought of her trying to hide her emotions from him. It wasn't her face gave away her emotions. It was her body language, her aura, and her scent.

"Why do you think I bring the games?"

It was too good to be true to think that the conversation would have ended after he answered her question. "You bring them so we can have fun."

She nodded. "Yes. I bring them so you can have fun." She looked over his shoulder towards the woods beyond. Inuyasha knew there was nothing behind him. It was just a trick she used when she didn't want to look directly at him but wanted it to look like she was. Feh, as if he couldn't tell the difference.

"You spend all your time hunting and fighting and protecting. Shippo takes time to color and play with Kirara. Sango and I relax in baths and swim. Miroku… well… I try not to think about what he does when he goes off on his own. But the point is, everyone does something that is just for fun. What do you do for fun, Inuyasha?"

He really hoped that she wasn't expecting an answer. Telling her that watching her and following her was what he did for fun didn't seem like such a good idea. So instead he shrugged.

"It's important to have fun occasionally and relax."

"I'll relax when Naraku is dead."

The miko growled softly, amusing the dog demon to no end. "You can't live like that. You can't give up your happiness like that. There are no guarantees that we'll live through the fight. There are no guarantees that we'll even find him for years. Decades. You have to let a little happiness into your life to keep you sane. Balanced."

Once again he refrained from telling her about the happiness he already let into his life, about his anchor to sanity. The one who keeps him balanced.

Instead he said, "Feh."

"Feh?" She groaned. "You can't keep using that as an answer. It isn't an answer! I'm buying you a Word Of The Day calendar the next time I go home!"

Grumbling about introverted hanyous, she opened her bag and pulled out the game. She spread the mat out and smoothed out the wrinkles. When she was finished she dusted her hands off and turned towards Inuyasha with a grin.

"Come on. Let's play!"

His mouth dropped open, and his hands fell from their folded position. "What? Now?"

"Yes!"

"Just… the two… of us…?"

"Yes!" Reaching out a hand to him, she smiled. "I figured you might be too embarrassed to do this in front of the others until you got the hang of it. So I thought we could play by ourselves for a bit until you get more comfortable with it."

Inuyasha was frozen to his spot. She wanted to play… the inappropriate touching game with him… With HIM! His heart rate tripled. His instincts told him to run. The only problem was, it wasn't telling him which direction to run. He strongly suspected that they were telling him to run TO her, not from her. Stupid untrustworthy instincts…

When his feet still didn't move, Kagome went to him and took his hand. He had no control over his body as he let himself be led to the mat.

"Right foot blue."

"There's no spinner person," Inuyasha said once he found his voice.

Kagome shrugged. "We'll take turns calling out moves. Right foot blue, Inuyasha."

He stepped on a blue circle, keeping his eyes on the mat instead of on Kagome. Well, he could see her feet. He frowned at her shoeless and sockless feet. When did she get that blister? Was that a bruise on her knee?

"Your turn," she reminded him.

"Right. I mean left. Left hand green."

It couldn't be helped, he watched as Kagome bent down to touch her left hand to a green spot. He felt another surge of anger. She was wearing a skirt! At his growl, Kagome turned to look at him.

"What?"

"You wore THAT to play?"

Kagome had the nerve to laugh. She stood up and took the hem of her skirt in her hands. Inuyasha fell to the mat when she lifted it up.

"Shorts," she explained. "I wore bike shorts underneath. You think I'm dumb enough play a game like this with Miroku anywhere in the vicinity without wearing something underneath?" She stepped off the spots and grinned. "Let's start again. Left foot yellow."

The bike shorts were tight fitting, like a second skin. It was only barely better than not wearing anything. They were good protection from perverts though. He wondered if he could talk her into wearing them all the time. It would keep him from worrying about every stupid breeze or gust of wind.

"Right hand green."

"Left hand blue."

"Left foot yellow."

Kagome laughed as she nearly lost her balance. Inuyasha smiled at the sound. They continued to call out directions, and continued to tangle each other up.

"Right foot red."

Inuyasha held his breath as Kagome had to turn her body around and duck under his. Eventually he remembered how to breathe.

Never.

Never in a million years did he think he would find himself in this position.

Inuyasha bends his head slightly, nose brushing her neck, and inhales deeply. Every breath he took drew was heavily laced with her scent and made it difficult to think straight. He prayed that he wouldn't mess this up. His arms trembled a little as he held himself up above her. His fingers brushed hers. His right leg crossed over her left. Taking a few breaths he tried to calm his racing heart beat. Stupid thing was behaving all erratically.

_How did I end up like this_? He wondered idly as he watched his breath moved the hair near her neck. It must have tickled, because she looked up at him and giggled. Then she moved her foot a little to left…

It was just enough to distract him, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Kagome squealed as she rolled out of the way. Suddenly he found himself look up at her, shocked at the sound that had just come out of his mouth. Kagome's eyes widened in awe.

"Was… was that a … laugh?"

"Keh," he blushed and tried to move. But he wasn't quick enough. He was pounced upon and pinned to the mat by a miko with sparkling eyes.

"It was too! You laughed!" She sat back on his stomach. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah yeah, get off me, wench."

"Want to play again?"

Inuyasha looked up at her. Did he want to play Twister with her again? Did he want to be so close to her that a leaf couldn't pass through them and she wouldn't mind? Did he want to play a game where not only was he allowed to touch her, but was expected to? Did he want to spend time listening to Kagome laugh? Was this a trick question?

"Whatever." He stood up and moved off to the side. "But no cheating this time."


	7. Mine All Mine

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me. (Disclaimer part II at the end of the chapter)

Mine, All Mine

_Mine, all mine. _

_Well, it will be soon. _

He studied his companions through narrowed eyes.

_Shippo will be the first to go. He's the weakest. He has so little, and his luck has been running low. It won't be long until he falls. Pick the weak off first._

_Miroku will be next. I'll make sure of that. Doesn't matter that his holdings are nearly as strong as mine, he has to go next. The weakest goes first, then your strongest competition. Besides, he just plain ticks me off. _

Inuyasha looked at the monk, glaring at him. Miroku would go down. He shouldn't have been trying to charm Kagome into being lenient with him.

He shouldn't have been trying to charm her at all.

Naturally Sango would be the next to go. It was her or Kagome, and well, the demon slayer just didn't stand a chance when the choices came down to that. He probably should feel at least a slight twinge of guilt over that, but he didn't. Of course, she'd put up a good fight, but he wouldn't let her gain anything else, land or money. In fact, he was pretty sure that… wait one second… did Shippo just… steal?

"PUT THAT BACK!"

"I didn't do nuthin'!"

"Put it back you thievin' little brat!" Inuyasha yanked the kit up by his tail. Stealing would NOT be tolerated.

"I was just borrowing it!"

"You don't 'borrow' things by just taking them! That's called STEALING!" He dropped the kit before bonking him on the head a few times. "Now put the money back." He growled and flexed his claws when Shippo didn't move fast enough. "Put it back right NOW!"

"Shippo," Kagome said sadly, "You know you can't do that. It's wrong."

Maybe it was the disappointment in her voice that made the kit put the money back so fast. It sure wasn't the threats Inuyasha was issuing. Of course, that sad sound made Inuyasha's spirits droop a bit too, and he wasn't even the stupid thief! If Shippo hadn't put the money back, Inuyasha may have been forced to throttle the kid. Kagome would have been hurt if he didn't. And no one hurts Kagome.

"If you pull a stunt like that again, I'll s… shred you into tiny pieces and feed you to the fish. Then I'll eat the fish for dinner." Inuyasha couldn't believe that he almost threatened to skin the kit alive. Kagome forgave a lot of the things he said, but he wasn't sure she would forgive him any time soon if he brought back bad memories to the kid. It had taken a long time for Shippo to stop having the nightmares of his father being skinned. "You don't steal. And you don't cheat." It was a command, and the fox kit knew it.

Shippo quietly slid the money back where it belonged and looked glumly down at his hands. The kit looked so despondent that Inuyasha almost felt like waving off the theft. But Shippo had to learn. What kind of demon would he grow up to be if he started stealing? Next he would be knocking down little old ladies and eating children!

A slight motion caught the dog demon's attention, causing his hackles to rise.

"MIROKU!"

The monk blinked innocently at him. "Yes?"

"I saw that!"

"Saw what?"

"I saw it too!" snarled Shippo, hopping up to a standing position and pointing and jabbing an accusing finger at the monk. "I saw it!"

"Calm down, Shippo," pleaded Kagome.

"But he cheated, Kagome! He cheated!" Shippo hopped up onto Inuyasha's shoulder and snarled at Miroku again. "Put him in jail!"

Unruffled, the monk smiled cheerfully at the angry fox kit. "I don't mind going to jail," he purred. "At long last I will have time alone with my dearest Sango. Perhaps we may even share the same cell."

"Pervert," grumbled the irritated demon slayer. "How long do I have to stay in here anyhow? Inuyasha is bleeding us dry and all I can do is sit here and ROT!"

Kagome closed her eyes and rubbed her throbbing temples. She was getting a headache, he could tell. Maybe it was time to end all this. "Inuyasha is not bleeding us dry."

"Yes I am."

"And you aren't going to rot," she told Sango, ignoring the smug dog demon. "You'll be out of there soon."

"I'm gonna take everything you own."

"And Miroku won't go to jail unless he's supposed to."

"Even if he cheats?" Sango asked.

"You'll have nothin' left."

"INUYASHA! Give it a rest." She glared at the dog demon before turning her fury onto Miroku. "And what do they mean by 'cheating'?"

Miroku brought his hands up defensively. "It was an honest mistake!"

"He moved his thimble forward two spaces," said Shippo as he stuck his tongue out.

Kagome sighed and rubbed her temples again. Inuyasha decided that maybe he'd go ahead and take out Miroku first. Shippo could wait. Shippo could be annoying, but at least he wasn't giving the girl headaches.

"Put the thimble back," Kagome said in that soft voice of hers. The one that promised oodles of pain if you didn't do what she said.

Miroku opened his mouth to try and charm her again. Inuyasha was hoping he would try. It would be interesting to see what kind of punishment Kagome would dish out. Too bad Miroku didn't have a subduing rosary. Maybe Kaede could make one for him. Though it would be better if Sango got to give the command. Now THAT would be entertainment!

"Of course, Kagome," Miroku smiled gently as he moved it back a couple of spaces. "An unfortunate accident." It wouldn't be the only 'unfortunate accident' going on tonight if Inuyasha caught him doing anything else underhanded.

"Your roll, Sango," said Kagome as she slid the dice over to the slayer.

A five and a four. Sango's cursing was impressive as she took out $50 and slammed it down in the middle of the board before moving her race car forward nine spaces.

"At least you're finally out of jail," Kagome laughed.

"I was in there for THREE turns! THREE! Inuyasha is out there grabbing all the land while I'm rotting away in jail! He's even put up a house on Boardwalk! A HOUSE!" She glared at him, causing Kagome to rub her temples again. Maybe Sango would be the first to go. Too bad he couldn't wipe them all out in one swipe. Then she screeched when she realized where she landed. New York Avenue, one of Inuyasha's vast holdings. One with a hotel on it.

"One thousand, Sango." Inuyasha demanded.

Her jaw clenched. "I don't have a thousand."

"Mortgage something?" he asked with what almost sounded like innocence. Of course, even if she mortgaged her two remaining un-mortgaged properties, she still wouldn't be able to come up with the rent. He knew it too.

Kagome looked sympathetically at Sango. "Maybe you could sell something instead."

The demon slayer glared at her, causing Inuyasha's muscles to tense. "All I have left of any value is the railroad. If I sell that to him he'll have all four." She flipped through her properties. "What about St. Charles Place?"

"No."

She growled. "St. Charles Place and Baltic Avenue?"

"No."

"I'M NOT GIVING YOU THE RAILROAD!"

"Sango… please calm down…"

"He's trying to take my railroad, Kagome! If he gets that we're all dead!"

"Sango… really… please calm down…"

"No," said Miroku quietly. "She is right. If he gets the railroad then we are all done for. He plans on taking us out, one by one."

"What do you propose, monk?" asked Sango, suddenly a bit too calm.

"Borrow from the bank, pay it back later. We won't give up without a fight."

Kagome sighed. "You can't borrow from the bank. You can only get money from the bank when you pass GO or when you mortgage properties." She looked at all of Sango's cards turned face down. Mortgaged. "And she doesn't really have anything left, Miroku. Her only choice to stay in the game is to sell."

"It is touching that you are on his side," said Miroku, "But we will borrow from the bank and pay it back."

"No, Miroku," she said through gritted teeth, "You won't."

"I will not let Inuyasha take everything that Sango owns!"

"It will be cheating if you take money from the bank. You CAN'T do it!"

Miroku leaned forward, glaring at Kagome. "I will do whatever it takes to protect her."

"Back off, monk," growled Inuyasha as he drew his sword and pointed it at Miroku's heart. He didn't yell the words. They were said softly and calmly, which was much more frightening than if he had roared at them. "Back off right now."

Sango leapt to her feet and grabbed her boomerang. "Don't threaten Miroku!"

"Then he better change his attitude towards Kagome. And his tone of voice. He will NOT talk to her like that again. EVER."

His sword didn't drop, but he kept a wary eye on Sango. Shippo had hopped onto his shoulder and was glaring at Miroku. Kirara snarled at Inuyasha as she changed from her cute form to her fierce form. All at once everyone began yelling and shouting and growling and snarling. None of them showed any signs of backing down. In fact, it only started to escalate as everyone fell into their fighting stances.

There was a sudden feeling of flames licking at his feet. Inuyasha turned his head to see Kagome surrounded by a blazing aura with fire in her eyes. That was never a good sign. He hoped she didn't accidentally purify them all. Could humans be purified? Right at that moment he kind of hoped so.

"Everyone will SIT DOWN right now."

WHAM

Her eyes softened. "Sorry, Inuyasha."

"Why do you do this to me…" he groaned as he spit out a mouthful of dirt.

"Everyone will take a seat, right now." She waited. No one moved. "NOW!"

They sat.

"We play the game by the rules or we don't play at all. Inuyasha is allowed to put up houses and hotels. He's supposed to get as much property as he can. It is what we are all trying to do. That is the whole point of the game." Her breath was still coming harshly as she tried to get her temper under control. She paused and gave Inuyasha one of those smiles that made him feel all funny inside. "It is unfair of you to get mad at him just because is is so good at the game. How the heck did you get so good at this game anyhow?

He shrugged and tried not to look like the compliment meant anything to him. She blushed, smiled a different sort of smile, and ducked her head away. _Oh just great_, he moaned to himself, _she knows!_

After clearing her throat, Kagome turned her attention back to the slayer. "Sango," she said gently, "You don't have to sell to Inuyasha, you can sell to anyone. You can even have a little min auction if you'd like. But if you can't raise enough money, all your property and money will go to Inuyasha."

She turned to face Miroku, after giving Shippo a meaningful glance. "The bank can not lend money. And no one is allowed to steal from the bank. Anyone tries it again and all your properties will go back to the bank and put back out for purchase. If you have problems with the rules you don't have to play."

The group was quiet. Inuyasha worked hard to keep a straight face. Kagome yelled at them. Not at HIM, but at THEM. She defended him. She took his side. She complimented him. It was worth the sitting.

"I will purchase your railroad," said Miroku softly, "For a thousand."

"THAT'S CHEATING!" cried Shippo. Kagome just shook her head and told the kit that it was indeed a legal move.

Sango, however, was smiling at the monk in a way that Inuyasha never saw before. He cocked his head to one side, trying to figure it out. The smile was warm. Soft. And something else that he couldn't quite find the words for. He'd have to remember to ask Kagome about it later. After the others went to sleep.

"You won't have much left if you do that," she said.

Miroku smiled at her. "I would give you every thing I own if it kept you safe."

"Do you think that they know that this is just a game?" whispered Inuyasha when the two continued to look at each other quietly.

Kagome poked him with her elbow. "Hush. You'll spoil the mood."

"The mood."

"Isn't it romantic?" she said dreamily as Sango and Miroku made their transaction.

"Romantic?" His ears twitched. Did he miss something? All the monk did was make himself weaker to give Sango a little more time. It was a stupid move. Neither one of them were going to make it out of this game with a single scrap of paper. All they were accomplishing was prolonging it. It was futile. Even if they combined everything they had they still wouldn't be able to make a dent in the wealth and power he accumulated. How was that romantic?

Sango took the money and thrust it at Inuyasha. He took it without a word. She looked unusually happy for someone who was giving up the majority of her holdings. Glancing over at Kagome he could see that she was still watching them dreamily. It was irritating.

"Your turn," he said more gruffly than he meant as he shoved the dice at Kagome.

She rolled a seven. Inuyasha watched as she picked up her little dog token. He cursed silently. _Is she going to hit Boardwalk?_ She could never afford the rent! He counted mentally how many steps it would take, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that she would land on the Luxury Tax instead. Good, she was safe for another round.

Shippo took the dice next and rolled two two's. Unfortunately this was his third double in a row. He complained loudly as he was sent to jail. He set down his horse and rider with a thump. Sango wasn't particularly sympathetic to his plight. Inuyasha rolled an eleven and landed on Water Works. It didn't bother him since he owned it. He slid the dice over to Miroku.

He rolled a nine. Inuyasha counted the spots. Miroku would land on Pacific Avenue. Rent, with the three houses on it, was 900. He didn't have the money. If he sold everything he had left he would still be 100 short. Sango couldn't afford to buy anything from him to give him enough money. There was nothing to mortgage. Shippo would be no help. Even if he had the extra money he probably wouldn't help him out since the kit was still irritated with Miroku from earlier. That left Kagome.

Inuyasha stretched and yawned.

"INUYASHA!" shrieked Kagome as the pieces flew. He must have accidentally kicked the board over when he stretched.

"I'm getting some sleep. It's late." He leapt into the branch above Kagome's sleeping bag and rested his head on his arms folded behind his head. "We've got jewel shards to look for in the morning, we can't spend all night playing games."

He watched as Kagome rescued the colorful paper money before they reached the flames of their campfire. Shippo was gathering up the tokens, making them talk to each other. Mainly the game pieces complained about what a klutz that the hanyou was. Sango and Miroku… well… they were working together to put the game up. They were sorting the properties and straightening it up. They were smiling and laughing together. For a moment they didn't look at all like the warriors that Inuyasha was used to fighting alongside. They looked like a simple man and woman.

"I'm proud of you," whispered Kagome as she picked up a stray paper near their tree.

"Keh. For what? Being clumsy?"

She looked up at him and shook her head with a grin. She knew. Of course she knew. "Yeah… for being clumsy."

"Maybe you should bring a less violent game next time," suggested Inuyasha.

"Oh, I don't know," she said as she smiled at Sango and Miroku, who were still bent with their heads together straightening up an already tidy game set. "This one seemed to have turned out pretty well."

Kagome jumped up and grabbed the low hanging branch. Just as she was about to swing her leg over to crawl her way up, Inuyasha grabbed her and pulled her up next to him. She yawned and stretched her arms and legs before trying to make herself comfortable.

"They seem awfully happy considering how badly they were losing."

"I don't think they lost," she whispered.

"But… they were. Neither one of them would have made it past one more turn."

Kagome shrugged. "Probably not. But I think they got something even better out of the game."

Inuyasha let himself lean ever so slightly in Kagome's direction. He stopped when he could feel her warmth. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Miroku giving up everything for Sango wasn't futile. Out of the corner of his eye he looked at Kagome. It was worth giving everything he had to keep her in the game as long as possible.

He let his hand drop near hers, looking away while waiting for her to take it. He wasn't disappointed. Every muscle he had relaxed. _Mine, all mine, _the thought echoed in his head.

Maybe Miroku wasn't so stupid after all.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Disclaimer Part II: Monopoly doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Parker Brothers.

Author's Notes:

In case you're wondering, the game disclaimers are going to start going at the bottom of the chapter instead of the top so it won't ruin any surprises. If it's against the rules, please let me know so I can change it.

Thanks for your reviews and your great suggestions. If I haven't used your suggestion, it doesn't mean that I won't use it in the future. Sometimes you have to wait for the muse to strike. But I'm keeping track of who suggested what so I can give credit where credit is due.

On a personal note, because of similar situations of fighting while playing Monopoly in my house (though not with actual weapons), it has been forever banned.


	8. Kiss and Tell

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me. (Disclaimer part II at the end of the chapter)

Kiss and Tell

Shippo spun the bottle.

Inuyasha frowned at Kagome as she smothered another giggle, wondering what was so funny. He would have asked if the others weren't being even more nosy than usual.

"What is so amusing?" asked Sango as Kagome giggled once more.

"Oh… nothing."

But it was something. It was always something. What did she find so amusing about a bottle spinning around? He also suspected that the kit kept spinning the stupid thing just to see Kagome laugh, then get mad at him for asking her why she kept laughing. Tricky fox. But he wasn't falling for it.

She glanced at Inuyasha and blushed.

Well now, THAT was interesting. What was Kagome thinking, that obviously involved HIM from the looks of things, that would be causing her to blush? Inuyasha thought about the things that he thought about that made him blush... but surely Kagome wouldn't be thinking things like that. No way.

Would she?

Reaching towards the bottle, Inuyasha gave it a spin, but kept his eyes glued on the miko. Her cheeks went from light pink to bright red. When it stopped she gave a nervous laugh and stood up suddenly.

"Anyone ready for dinner?" she sang out as she went straight for her band and moved the things around in it.

_Isn't it too early for dinner?_ wondered Inuyasha suspiciously. "I'm hungry," he said.

"Already? It's not even dusk yet," said Sango.

"I'm hungry."

Kagome focused all her attention hunting for food. "I think I have some snacks in here."

He would not beg. He would NOT beg. He would not… "Can't you fix some Ramen?" That was asking. NOT begging.

Snickering a little, Kagome rooted through her bag for the cup of Ramen and her pot to boil water in. Predictably, Shippo tagged along after her as she poured water from one of the bottles into the pot and set it over the campfire. The bottle had been abandoned.

Now only Sango was left. He tried to look like he wasn't up to anything, and he wasn't, but she just kept watching him! Then she reached down and gave the bottle a spin.

"I don't get it," she said as the bottle slowed down and stopped.

"Keh."

He noticed Kagome noticing them, so he folded his arms and leaned against a tree. She still looked amused. Her eyes darted over to Miroku. It looked like the monk was going to join in on whatever game was going on.

"What is the object of the game?"

Sango shrugged at Miroku's question. She spun the bottle again. "Honestly, I have no idea."

When Miroku leaned down to spin the bottle, Inuyasha saw Kagome stop what she was doing to pay attention. The bottle spun around three times before stopping in front of him.

Kagome shrieked. Inuyasha drew his sword and looked around for the enemy before realizing that the miko was laughing hysterically. She had literally fallen on her rear, hugging her stomach with tears running down her face. Inuyasha was befuddled. _What the heck?_ He voiced his internal question a bit more colorfully.

Wiping her tears, Kagome said, "Spin the Bottle is a game." Then she cracked up laughing some more, worrying the hanyou.

Sango looked at the bottle skeptically. "It's not a very fun game, is it?"

Of course, that set Kagome off on another giggling spurt. Inuyasha wasn't sure what to do. Was something trying to possess her again? Could there be any ill effects to all that blood rushing to her face? Already she had a stitch in her side that was making him uncomfortable. His instincts roared against her being in pain. But she was laughing and happy, so how could he stop the pain without making her unhappy?

His ears drooped slightly. It had to be done. Time to start another pointless fight. But at least she would be out of pain. He opened his mouth to make a sarcastic comment.

"It's a kissing game."

He shut his mouth.

A kissing game? Kissing? What kind of game involves kissing? _Hey! How did SHE learn about a kissing game? _Inuyasha bristled in anger. _When? With who? How is it played?_

"How is it played?"

Inuyasha's heart stopped beating. For a blind panicked moment he thought he might have voiced his hentai thoughts out loud and would soon be kissing dirt. Luckily it was that pervert who asked. Lucky him! He got his answer and he didn't even have to ask. _Ha! Knew that monk was good for something._

Her cheeks turned an interesting shade pink as she came over and sat near Sango, fiddling with a lock of her hair nervously. "Everyone si… uh… takes a seat in a circle," she said. Her eyes stayed glued to the ground.

Inuyasha sits.

Kagome cleared her throat before beginning again. "Then one person spins the bottle, like this." She used one finger to spin the bottle in a circle. It landed with the open side facing her and she breathed a sigh of relief. "The open end is the pointer. Whoever the bottle points at is the person that the spinner must kiss."

"And people kiss whoever the bottle tells them to?" Sango sounded as appalled as Inuyasha felt. Just how many times had Kagome played this game? Who taught it to her?

"What a fantastic game!"

Kagome's blush deepened at Miroku's comment, causing Inuyasha to flex his claws. But he was determined to keep his temper. That idea went out the window when Kagome gave Sango a wink then tried out a leer of her own at Miroku, who got distinctly nervous. That was IT! He was going to have to kill the monk.

"Of course," she purred, "Sometimes the rules are changed. And instead of kissing you take off an article of clothing, or give the spinner a different type of 'favor'."

Inuyasha actually heard the quote marks when she said 'favor'.

"What kind of favor?"

The question had slipped out before he could stop it. It was an innocent enough question, but it turned Kagome into a beet red stuttering fool. She was just no good at trying to be a lecher. Inuyasha glanced around to see if Shippo was listening in. He had a feeling this wasn't the type of discussion he should be hearing. Heck, this wasn't the type of discussion HE should be hearing. And Kagome certainly shouldn't be a part of this. It was just... wrong!

"Well, that is up to the players to decide. It can really be anything if everyone agrees on it. Of course, it doesn't have to be a kissing game. I've played a version where the person it points at has to pretend to be a kind of animal and everyone has to guess what it is. Kind of like charades."

Miroku spun the bottle, but Inuyasha snatched it off the ground when it began to slow. If it landed on Kagome, he wasn't so sure that he could stop himself from pounding on the monk. He liked his friend and didn't want to have to kill him.

"A kissing game," Miroku said with a grin. "How very interesting."

Kagome laughed. "Spin the Bottle isn't the only kissing game. There are lots of them."

_Lots of them? _Inuyasha was horrified. Kagome knew more than one kissing game?

"Lots of them?" asked the slayer.

"Sure," she said with a shrug, as if Inuyasha's world wasn't two seconds away from a major meltdown. He would have taken off if... um... uh... if he wasn't... hmmm... oh! He would have taken off if he didn't have to stick around and make sure Miroku didn't try anything. "There is Post Office, Marathon Kissing, Anticipation, Guess Who, Kiss or Dare, Kissing Tag..."

"I recognize some of those games," Sango interrupted. "Do they just take a regular game and turn it into a kissing one?"

"Kind of. In Kissing Tag one person is IT and has to go around kissing the other players. The tag is a kiss. If you get tagged three times then you become IT."

"Perhaps we should play."

Inuyasha reached out and bopped Miroku over the head for his suggestion. It was probably a little harder than he should have, but his temper was beginning to flare. Kagome should not know so many kissing games.

"What is Guess Who and Anticipation?"

With Miroku unconscious, well, faking unconsciousness (Inuyasha had debated on whether or not to rat him out), Kagome seemed a little more relaxed and talkative (which was why not drawing attention to the faker was a good idea).

"In Guess Who, the boys are on one side of the room and the girls on the other. One team closes their eyes and the others have to kiss them. For example, if the girls are the ones closing their eyes, the boys choose someone and kiss. After everyone has been kissed, they go back to the sides of the room and the girls have to guess who kissed them."

"It does not sound very sanitary," remarked the slayer, who nudged the downed monk with her toe.

Kagome shrugged. "No, I guess not."

"Anticipation?"

"In Anticipation two people play. Each one gets closer and closer to each other, trying to be as tempting and suggestive as possible. The one who kisses first is the loser."

"It does not sound much like a loss."

Inuyasha was startled. He would have expected a comment like that out of Miroku, not out of Sango. Was the pervert rubbing off on all of them?

Kagome laughed. "I suppose you're right. Anyhow," she said with a wave of her hand, "There are hundreds of kissing games out there."

Hundreds?

Hundreds of kissing games?

KAGOME knew HUNDREDS of KISSING GAMES?

Her eyes were merry as she said, "There's even one played with cards called Su..." she suddenly stopped and blushed as she glanced at Inuyasha. Then her mouth snapped shut as her eyes flickered to Miroku. He had twitched. What bad timing.

"The water must be boiling over by now."

She jumped up (cowardly) and went to check on the water. Sure enough, it was boiling. Pouring water into the cups she hurriedly changed the subject to ... something. Inuyasha wasn't really sure, his mind was still stuck on the fact that his innocent Kagome knew hundreds of kissing games. Even the smell of ramen being steeped didn't move him.

"Have you played all of those games," asked Miroku in an overly interested tone that had Inuyasha growling lowly.

Kagome laughed.

Was that a "of course I've played hundreds of kissing games which is why kissing Inuyasha once was no big deal at all and meant nothing to me" kind of laugh or a "what a silly idea to even imagine that I would have kissed anyone else when of course I'm saving myself for Inuyasha" kind of laugh? But instead of actually answering, she simply shook her head at him and handed him his cup of noodles.

"Can't you guys talk about anything else?" grumbled Shippo as he huddled over his cup to keep dog demon paws off it. "Kissing is gross."

"Ah, Shippo," sighed Miroku, "Kissing is not gross. Kissing is the mo..."

"Miroku!" Kagome snapped. "Please change the subject." Her eyes narrowed as his grew mischievous, "Maybe Sango should take you to go hunt firewood."

Miroku let out a yelp as he was yanked off his feet by an irate demon slayer.

Inuyasha relaxed a little now that they were gone and the topic was safely changed from the dangerous direction it was heading. Except... except he just couldn't stop thinking about how Kagome knew all those kissing games. He had thought that their shared kiss was special. Important. Binding. Sacred. What if to Kagome is was just one of a hundred kisses?

"Can I go down to the river and hunt for rocks? I want to try a new spell."

Kagome shook her head. "I don't want you going so far all alone, Shippo."

"Awww. What if I take Kirara?"

She ruffled his hair in a motherly way and nodded. "Okay, but try not to get into any trouble. And don't go in the water. And no talking to strangers!" She called as the kit and the fire cat were walking away.

"You do know that he is a demon don't you," reminded Inuyasha, "And survived alone for who knows how long."

"Oh hush up."

"And if he hadn't spoken to strangers he never would have met us."

"Hush."

Inuyasha responded with a "Keh" then looked down at his empty cup. When had he eaten the noodles? He tossed the container into the fire. When he realized he was alone with Kagome, he was suddenly nervous again. It was all the fault of that kissing talk. He glanced at the miko and realized that she was nervous too.

It was killing him. He had to know. "How many of those games have you played?" he asked gruffly.

"I haven't played any of them, Inuyasha. I heard about them from friends."

"But your friends have played them."

She nodded. "Yes. Well, not all of them." She giggled. "They would have quite to reputation if they've played ALL of them."

"But you haven't."

"No."

"Why not."

She wiped her hands on her skirt and turned so that she was facing the trees and not him. "Because I'm not comfortable sharing something as important as a kiss with just anyone."

It was important to her too. He was relieved.

"I've only ever been kissed once."

His heart began thundering in his chest. He was her only kiss. It was difficult keeping the proud smirk off of his face. Suddenly he was feeling brave.

"You said you could play one with cards?"

Her smile was shy, but at least she met his eyes. Holding up one finger she told him to wait just a moment. She went to her yellow bag and began rummaging through it. After a moment she came back with a deck of cards. She told him to pick a card, so he grabbed the deck and found the one he was looking for and gave it to her.

"This game is called...ahem..."

Inuyasha looked at the card in her hand and then at her pink cheeks. Wait... were they going to PLAY the game???

"Yes?" he asked/squeaked.

"Well, the name isn't important. But what you do is open your mouth just a little bit and place the card flat against it." She put the card against his lips. He didn't move a muscle, fear of messing this up nearly paralyzed him. "Now... suck."

He obeyed.

When she let go of the card it was still on his lips. The suction was keeping it in place. So far the game was confusing.

"Now," she said as she moved closer to his face, "I have to put my mouth on this side of the card. I'll suck in air, and you'll gently blow. That way the card is transferred from you to me."

His body reacted to her words (he could actually feel his blood _zinging_ through his veins), and he briefly thought of escaping so he didn't embarrass himself. Then Kagome moved closer, and he decided he would rather risk having his heart explode than to miss this opportunity. She pressed her lips exactly where his were, but on the other side of the card. He could feel the warmth of her lips through the thin cardboard. He could barely concentrate while being drowned in her scent with her this close. Her eyes fluttered closed and Inuyasha dug his claws into the ground to keep from pulling her to him. The gentle pull as she inhaled was almost his undoing. Slowly her eyes opened up and he remembered that he was supposed to be blowing.

She was killing him.

Gently he blew against the card, groaning when he heard Kagome make a mmmm-ing sound. It was like he was being tortured! Then she pulled back, and the card was now on her mouth. The Queen of Diamonds staring at him. Her eyes were questioning as she gazed at him. Then she moved forward, just a bit, just enough to ask if he wanted to try this time.

Inuyasha leaned forward, possibly a little more eagerly than he would have liked, and placed his mouth on hers. Inhaling he took in her scent again and closed his eyes, letting it surround him. Then he felt Kagome gently blow and it took the remainder of his brain cells that weren't concentrating on her scent (all two of them) to remember that he was supposed to be sucking against the card.

With a trembling hand he took the card from his lips and looked at Kagome. Everything but her presence had disappeared. She wet her bottom lip and leaned forward, head slightly tilted. He hoped to all the gods above that this was an invitation as he leaned forward as well.

"Have you changed your mind about playing games tonight," asked an amused Miroku.

Kagome and Inuyasha jumped apart as if they had been electrocuted. Just how long had he been standing there? And where was Sango? Why wasn't she keeping him on a shorter leash?

"I'm going to kill that monk."

Inuyasha grinned when Kagome stole the words right out of his mouth. Running his thumb over the card, he decided to add it to his small collection that he kept secure near his heart. The miko's focus was elsewhere, she'd forget all about the card soon. But as soon as he moved to place it inside his robes, she turned to him and then to the card. She shook her head at him and held her hand palm up for him to put it into.

Regretfully he watched as she walked away with the card. He had hoped to keep it with him as a reminder of what they had almost shared. And it held her scent on it. Maybe he could steal it from the deck in the middle of the night. She'd never know. He'd toss a few more into the fire or something so she would suspect anything.

But then she did the unexpected. His heart did a little flip flop when he saw her put it in her pocket, patting it gently, instead of adding it to the deck. She turned and game him a smile that made his bones melt.

Out of all the games she brought with her from the future, this one was by far his favorite!

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Disclaimer Part II: None of these kissing games belong to me. Sadly… I never even played any of them. Heck, I didn't even know some of them even existed! Sigh.

Author's Notes:

Bet you guys thought I forgot all about this story. I just had to wait for inspiration to strike. I knew I wanted to do this chapter and what it was going to be about, but it just wasn't coming together so it got put on the back-burner (you'd think that was funny that I was using a cooking reference if you knew I'm a disaster waiting to happen in the kitchen).

Lots of people wrote suggesting different kissing games that they should play. I couldn't decide on which game to pick, so I decided to mention a bunch of them.


	9. Kagome Kagome

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Kagome Kagome

"Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage…"

Inuyasha's ears pricked up. Who was calling Kagome's name? It sounded like a kid, but shouldn't they all be in school? Dropping from his perch where he was watching the entrance of the school, he followed the sound of Kagome's name.

"When will you come out? In the evening of the dawn, the crane and turtle slipped…"

When will Kagome come out? Well… that made no sense. And what was this about a crane and a turtle?

"Who stands right behind you now?"

Actually, it sounded more like singing, maybe chanting. The singing stopped, then there were some giggles and laughs. Then the singing began again. Only this time they were chanting something a little different.

"Demon. Demon. Demon. Demon. Demon."

Inuyasha froze. He wiggled his ears, comforted by the fact that his hat was firmly in place and that he wasn't the one being pointed out. Then he scanned the area and sniffed, looking for signs of a demon. Then they began chanting Kagome's name again, distracting him from.

Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage,

when will you come out?

In the evening of the dawn,

the crane and turtle slipped.

Who stands right behind you now?

Inuyasha found the source of the singing. A bunch of kids were surrounding another kid. The one in the middle was smiling, so it didn't look like he was in trouble. But it still unnerved him to see them gang up on him. He sat down to watch in case he was needed.

"Inuyasha?"

"Kagome!" He tried to sound surprised, it always seemed to make her feel good when she thought she had snuck up on him. She would giggle happily or smile sunnily while apologizing. "Thought you had that school thing."

"I saw you leave, and I followed."

Inuyasha smirked. She had been watching him watching her. And she followed him!

"Heard some racket. Buncha kids surrounding another kid, but they don't look like they are hurting him." He added that last part quickly since he didn't want her to think that he'd let a bunch of bullies beat up a defenseless pup.

Kagome watched for a moment, then laughed when she recognized the song. "Kagome, Kagome huh?"

"Yeah, they keep singing that. Do you know them?"

"It's a game." She sat down beside him and watched with him. "The one in the middle is the demon. Or 'It' like in some of the other games we play. The demon has to keep their eyes covered while the others sing or chant and circle around him. When they stop, the demon has to guess who is sitting behind them."

"That's a stupid game."

Kagome frowned at him. "No, it's not!"

"Sure it is. Any demon would know by smell who's behind them."

She nudged him with her shoulder. "They're just regular human kids, Inuyasha. Not demons. They have to guess by sound, if they recognize a voice as it is going around in the circle. Or sometimes it is just plain old guessing. Frankly, if they were going off smell then I would be really worried about their hygiene."

"You never taught me this game," It came out more of an accusation than he meant. Luckily she didn't seem upset by it.

Turning to him, she grinned and touched his nose with a fingertip. "That's because you and Shippo would have an unfair advantage."

"We had an advantage in Combat Tag too, but that didn't stop you. You changed it, remember? You made it… ours."

Drawing her knees up under her chin, Kagome wrapped her arms around them. She made a hmm-ing sound and turned to watch the kids. They were back to chanting 'demon' and circling the child in the middle. Her eyes looked sad.

"Let's go do something fun, Inuyasha."

Her voice was sad too. It was very unusual. Games usually made Kagome happy. Had someone hurt her playing this game? The though made him angry. Did they circle her and make fun of her because her name was Kagome? Was she scared?

"Tell me." He demanded as he turned her to face him.

She looked startled, then tried to cover it up by shading her eyes against the sun. "A new noodle shop opened up, do you want to go have some ramen? If we hurry we can get there before school lets out."

Inuyasha grabbed her hand as she made to walk away and stopped her. Gently he pulled on her hand until they were sitting once more.

"Just tell me and get it over with."

She sighed. It was the sigh that she was giving up fighting. Really, why did she even bother fighting in the first place? "I didn't think you'd like the game, so I didn't bring it up?"

Well now, that wasn't at all what he was expecting her to say.

"Why wouldn't I like it?" He saw her look away with downcast eyes. Then it slowly dawned on him why she wouldn't think he'd like the game. "Kids didn't circle me and call me a demon, Kagome. Not like that." These kids weren't throwing stones and screaming obscenities while calling him a demon.

"No. Not like that. Not exactly, but close enough." Without looking at him she put her hand on his and gave it a squeeze. "I couldn't bear to… I just couldn't teach that game. It didn't feel right."

Once again the kids were chanting Kagome's name after a new person was chosen to be the demon. Now it made all the sense in the world.

Kagome was protecting him.

The thought made something warm blossom in his chest. His brain scrambled to find something to say that wouldn't totally blow it.

"Shippo would like it," he finally said. "It would be good training for him too." He nudged her with his shoulder. "We can change the word from 'demon' to 'stupid' if you think that would help."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome laughed. "Be nice!"

"Stoooopid, Stoooopid, idiot in the cage…" Inuyasha sang it as off key as he could, rewarded with a giggle and a slap against the shoulder. "Let's play it."

"What?"

"Let's play it!" Inuyasha stood up and pulled Kagome to her feet. He led her to the middle of the park. "Close your eyes."

"Inuyasha, you have to have more than two people to play this game." But she obeyed anyhow.

It was a little exciting actually. He had never really been the one to make up a game before. Or tweak one. But this time he was the one making the rules.

"You have to figure out where I am," he told her. "I'll try to sneak up on you. All you have to do is touch me before I can touch you and you'll win."

"No using super speed on me," she said.

"Fine." He thought for a moment. "Spin around and count to twenty while I go hide."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"That way you can't pay too much attention to the direction I'm going. And I won't go farther than the street." He was literally bouncing in anticipation. "Spin and I'll hide." He took a step. "Oh! Wait. You have to sing the Kagome song twice instead of counting. Then you can stop spinning."

She smiled.

"Wait!" She opened her eyes and grinned at his interruption. "Take off your tie."

"WHAT?"

His hands were already on the fabric when he realized that his request could have been taken in the wrong way. "To use as a blindfold!"

She let him take off her tie and wrap it around her head. He checked to make sure she couldn't see, then started her spinning in a circle and she began singing the song.

Kagome, Kagome, miko in the cage,

when will you come out?

In the evening of the dawn,

the dog demon slipped.

Who stands right behind you now?

Inuyasha took off.

He ran around the park, making sure not to run faster than a human could. When he heard her start the song for second time he found a spot and melted into it, not making a sound. He watched as Kagome turned her head slowly to the right as if listening to something. But her pathetic human hearing wouldn't help her now. Then she turned her head to the left. Slowly she turned in his direction.

There's no way she could hear him or smell him. But… could she really be sensing him?

The idea made his heart skip a beat. He picked up a rock and threw it to the left a few yards, Kagome turned towards the noise while he slunk in the opposite direction, slowly getting closer. He froze when she froze. Then ever so slowly she turned in his direction again. He tried the rock trick again, but this time her head only jerked quickly in that direction before coming back to where he threw it.

He was impressed.

However, he had managed to get a few feet closer. She looked confused, but determined. He was paying close attention to her mood. After all, this was supposed to be fun, he didn't want her scared. The sudden laughter of the children gave him his chance the circle around closer. Now Kagome was turning slowly in a circle again, trying to locate him. He crouched low and tried to still his breathing and movement as much as possible. He threw another rock, but this time she paid it no attention.

Soundlessly he began to move again, keeping an eye on her. She didn't look positive that she knew where he was, but she continued to follow his movements. He was almost within touching distance, but she was getting too close to knowing where he was. In fact, her hands were already reaching out. So he did the only thing he could think of.

He took off the top of his fire rat robe.

He couldn't help the slight rustling of cloth. However, he was very amused by Kagome's expression. It looked as if she was dying of curiosity, though her cheeks were starting to slightly flush. He wondered just what she thought he might be doing.

After a few moments of being completely still, Inuyasha stood up tall. Then he tossed the robe towards Kagome. Automatically she reached for it. And while she did, he took the opportunity to dodge behind her and tackle her from behind. She squealed with laughter as she fell, though at the last moment he turned so he hit the ground first and she landed on top. Once he hit, he rolled over so that he was pinning her to the ground.

"I win."

Her eyes were sparkling with laughter, and he felt his heart do that funny jumping thing again.

"You cheated!"

"Did not!"

She wiggled a bit to try to move out from under him, but he kept his hands on her shoulders. In fact, he let a little bit more of his weight settle on her stomach.

"Ug!" She laughed. "You're heavy. Get off."

"Admit I didn't cheat."

"Did too."

He shifted so that he was sitting even heavier on her. She laughed again and wiggled some more. Considering she was still in a fit of giggles, he didn't worry that he was actually hurting her.

"Say it," he said in a sing song voice.

"No way!"

Feeling more and more like a pup he began bouncing a little bit on her stomach. This time she was practically screeching with laughter. Being with her made up for all that he missed in his life. She brought him happiness. She gave him a sense of belonging, of home. She helped him find his playful side, a side he had forgotten he even had. She made him whole.

"Saaaay iiiit."

Her laughter slowed and Inuyasha paused in his torture. He looked down at her and found her blushing again. She bit her lip to try and hide her grin.

"I can't remember what you wanted me to say," she admitted.

"Keh."

Inuyasha rolled back on his feet and stood straddling her. She reached her hand up and he took it. Pulling her to her feet he reminded her that he was the winner and she was the loser. Her answering smirk confused him a little bit.

"Is that so?"

"I did. I won."

"MMmm hmmm."

"I did!" There was only one way to end this debate "I'm hungry."

She spun around and pointed. "All right! Off to the noodle shop!" She began walking and Inuyasha followed close behind.

"Hey... Kagome...?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you might want to play the game again?"

She let her hand brush against his as they walked, then intertwined her fingers with his. "Yeah. I would."

Inuyasha couldn't help but feel just a little bit proud that she liked his game. That HE could take a memory of something sad and turn it into something happy for HER. And he couldn't help but look forward to the next time he could play Kagome Kagome with her. He then started thinking back to some of the other games they have played, and wondered if he could make up his own versions of those too.

Now THAT was something worth working on.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Notes Part I:

Kagome Kagome Kago no naka no Tori wa

Itsu Itsu deyaru? Yoake no ban ni

Tsuru to Kame ga subetta.

Ushiro no shoumen dare ?

I went to four different sites about this game, and they all pretty much told me the same thing, so that's what I'm sticking with. There seemed to be two different chants you can do, one is chanting Oni and the other is reciting the song. I decided to mix it up a bit. I did, however, exchange Oni with Demon for the purposes of this story.

Sometimes the last few lines of the song/game are translated as the following:

At dawns and evenings.

Who is in front of the back,

where a crane and turtle slipped and fell?

Author's Notes Part II:

I'm sorry that it seems that some of the readers are getting bored with this story. I just want to remind everyone that this was meant to be a series of one-shots. Essentially every chapter is its own individual story, therefore it doesn't follow the usual storyline where it leads up to an end (the confession, the kiss, the happily ever after). However, if it is no longer entertaining, then I have no problems wrapping things up in one final chapter (not this one) and creating an actual ending. If I get a huge response for readers wanting an ending I'll probably wrap up the series in another chapter or two, otherwise I'll just keep things the way they are.


	10. Two Kids and a Skunk Farm

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Two Kids and a Skunk Farm

It was no surprise that Kagome chose education over going directly into the workforce. Her obsession with that school thing made it the obvious choice.

It also wasn't surprising that Shippo chose to follow in her footsteps. He would follow her to the ends of the earth, as long as she had a steady supply of pocky. Oh fine, she was more than a supply of ninja food. He'd probably still follow her. It was HIS job, however, to make sure that the kid grew up as a demon instead of as a human child. He would stay childlike for far longer than a human child. In fact, by the time he hit a hundred he would still look youthful. Demons, the ones lucky enough not to get on the wrong side of his blade, were quite long lived. One day Kagome would understand that Shippo couldn't be treated the same as a human, but he'd let her believe it a little while longer.

That Sango chose to go the route of education was no surprise either. The slayer looked to Kagome for guidance in many things. Sure she was older and was a trained killer, but when it came to being a woman she looked to Kagome. Without Kagome, she may never have found herself to be anything other than a warrior. She could be both.

Miroku chose the path that seemed easiest, the quickest path to money. Also no surprise. In fact, his entire group was pretty predictable.

Only Inuyasha refused to participate. He preferred to watch. There were only room for four anyhow. Kagome had offered to share, but he had hurumphed and jumped into the tree above her to take the post as sentry.

Inuyasha looked away from the group and allowed himself a smile.

It was a nice thought. A warm glowing thought. A thought he really shouldn't let himself think about too often.

A dream.

And even he had a right to dream, didn't he? Or would this be his life? Simply watching.

Miroku was the first to make money. He was an entertainer. His smugness was there if you looked for it, even though he tried to look calm and serene. The others may be fooled, but dog demons weren't so easy. The monk reeked of it. It was annoying. It was like he was saying (well… thinking really) that he made better decisions than Kagome.

Then he noticed that her head ducked down and she hid a smile. Maybe mikos weren't so easy to fool either.

"Awww… Miroku has money already," whined Shippo. "And he didn't have to pay all that money for school loans! He got paid after one lousy move! Look how far ahead he is! Why'd we go this way?"

"Patience, Shippo. See, look here. Now I get to choose between three careers instead of just taking what is given to me. And I get to choose from three different salaries. You don't have to take the college route to make money, it just gives you more choices." She sighed. "Why did that sound like my mother talking?"

Inuyasha frowned. Would Kagome choose to go to college? Did she want more choices instead of what life just gave her? Did she want… more than him?

"Ah," Miroku sighed, "A woman to bear my children at last."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Why couldn't he just have said 'wife'? Or 'mate'? It's no wonder Sango doesn't take him seriously. It sounds like all he's looking for is a womb, not a partner. He shrugged. It wasn't his problem as long as he kept his lecherous hands off Kagome.

One by one his friends got married. It irked him when Kagome chose her husband and set him next to her. Shippo named his.

One by one they started having children. Miroku was thrilled with his baby boy. He named the kid without even thinking. Meaning he probably had all dozen or so names picked out for all dozen or so kids he planned to have. He then had a baby girl, who also was named within moments. Another baby came along. It seemed to make him a delirously happy to have three kids in such a short space of time. Sango ended up with no children. Miroku simply told her that THEIR children were all simply riding with him. The slayer surprised him by smiling instead of clobbering him over the head.

Kagome had twins. She had asked his opinion on what they should be named. Of course he responded with a "keh", but it got him thinking.

What would it be like to have babies with Kagome? What would it be like to be a father? He didn't know how to be a father! Would he be able to protect them all? To provide for them all? Not just food and water, but for everything it takes to be a family. He would have to teach them to protect themselves and their mother. They would only have a quarter of demon blood in them, but that should still make them stronger than a human. He would have to teach them to take out demons who have a great advantage over them. Maybe he should watch Sango closer and study what it takes to be a demon slayer. And weapons. He would have to get them weapons suited for them.

Kagome would insist that they are educated, regardless of which time they chose to live in. Though maybe they could live in both. He knew that he wouldn't be much help with the school stuff. Maybe he should learn… Would it be possible that they would let him go to Kagome's school with her? Then he could protect her AND get smart enough to teach his kids.

Kagome explained about insurance and stocks. There was so much about her world that just didn't make much sense. Would she look for a mate who already knew these things? How could she trust him to take care of her when he didn't even know what insurance was? If only she didn't have to ever go back to her world, her time. He could take care of her just fine over here. He understood how things worked here.

She laughed happily at some comment Shippo made about the farm she just purchased.

He loved it when she laughed.

Before Kagome there was no laughter. No games. Even during the brief time he was with Kikyo there was not this feeling of joy. Kagome was laughter and joy and happiness and sunshine and passionate emotions. Especially passionate emotions. He never saw anyone be so quick to anger over the stupidest things as Kagome. But she was just as quick to laugh or smile. Or shed tears of joy or sorrow.

She was life.

"I won!"

"Congratulations, Shippo!" Kagome exclaimed. "Good job."

"Thank you for bringing the game, lady Kagome," Miroku said as he collected the LIFE tokens and put them back in the box. "It was very enjoyable."

"I thank you as well," Sango said, trying not to look like she was sneaking glances at the monk as she put up the little plastic cars and the little plastic pegs that represented the people.

"Thanks, Kagome! Maybe next time Inuyasha will quit being such a jerk and play with us."

"Shippo, be nice. There can only be four players. Besides, I was letting him share my car. So technically he was playing with me."

"But he didn't even spin the spinny thing! You weren't playing, were you Inuyasha?"

The kit glowered up at him, but the dog demon paid him no mind. Kagome had been sharing her car with him. He was the man she married and had the kids with. They bought a house (and a skunk farm) and became grandparents. They traveled together until the very end. Was she really picturing that or was she just playing the board game?

"Yeah, I was playing runt. Now go fetch some firewood."

Miroku handed the box to Kagome. "I believe that I will see about finding us some dinner." He glanced at Sango, who blushed.

"Um… I'll… uh… go make sure he doesn't get into any trouble…"

Kagome watched them disappear with a smirk on her face. Kirara shook her head then followed Shippo as he left, complaining about his chore. Inuyasha was just glad they were all gone. He liked them all, but sometimes it was difficult always being surrounded by others where he had to fight (sometimes literally) to get Kagome's attention. Then he could just be alone with her and they could just be.

"You were awfully quiet, Inuyasha. Is everything ok?"

He grunted an answer. She waited for a few moments for him to say more, but he stubbornly refused to elaborate. When she went over to her bag to pack her game up he followed. His ears picked up Shippo and Kirara playing and Sango and Miroku talking quietly. Kagome, however, was not saying a word. When she finished packing up the game and bringing out some food, she speared him with a look.

"I don't know why you play that stupid game," he said against his will. "That's not like real life at all."

She looked at him. Then she LOOKED at him. He could swear sometimes that she could actually read his thoughts. There were times that he wished that she could. That would solve soooo many problems.

"They didn't make this game with time travel or demon slaying in mind," Kagome told him gently. "Some of the questions are questions that you really do have to think about in your life. And some of them are just silly. It isn't meant to be taken seriously."

"So you aren't planning on college?"

She winced. That couldn't be a good sign.

"I don't know. But it is an option I have to consider. I'm… trying to prepare for… well… different options for my future."

Inuyasha snorted. "Does college take as long as school? Maybe…" He took a breath, then looked away as if he wasn't really interested. "Maybe I should go with you."

"To college?"

Humph. She didn't have to sound so surprised. "Someone has to keep an eye on you."

Quickly she turned so he wouldn't see her tears. But he didn't have to see them to know they were there. What had he done to upset her now? After what she thought was stealthily wiping her eyes, she turned back to him. She was smiling. It was breathtaking, like she had swallowed the sun. She was so confusing. Of course, every thought left his head when he felt her take both of his hands in hers. He stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating when she leaned closer to him. All he could see was her. The only thing he could hear was the loud roaring of his blood in his head. It was a physical ache in his body when she pulled back. Taking her hands, her warmth, away from him.

It took a moment to realize that the leaves were rustling and Shippo and Kirara were on their way into the clearing with a small tree that would need to be cut into pieces.

"I'm hungry," the kit whined.

"We'll eat shortly," she told him. Then she turned back to Inuyasha with a smile. "We'll just have to find our own way in life."

He nodded, then hopped back up into the trees. He watched as his pack began their evening dining ritual. He watched as Kagome mothered not only the kit, but all of them. Watching gave him a sense of peace. Watching reminded him that this was his pack, his family, and that he had a home. Kagome turned and smiled at him, encouraging him to join.

Yes.

Where ever Kagome was, there was home.

She was his life.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Notes: Wow! I want to thank everyone for such positive feedback last chapter. I will continue writing this series the way that I have been. When I run out of games to explore I'll write up a nice neat ending, but till then… well, it will still be a collection of one-shots loosely following the same thread.

Several of you recommended The Game of Life. So here it is! I may not write stories on every recommendation, or it may take several chapters until I get to it. It all depends on whether or not I get struck by inspiration by

Disclaimer Part II: The Game of Life does not belong to me either. It belongs to Parker Brothers.


	11. Scullzee

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Scullzee

"I'm bored."

"Shut up, Shippo."

"KAGOME! Inuyasha is being mean to me!"

The young miko rubbed her temples as she tried to focus on her homework assignment. Her slight headache was threatening to turn into a full blown migraine. She had hoped that the lull in activity would allow her to catch up on some of her homework. Yelling at Inuyasha was her first instinct. It was simpler to deal with an irritable hanyou than a crying kitsune. However, Inuyasha hadn't laid a hand on the kid, and frankly, the whining was getting on her nerves as well.

"Shippo, there are no rumors of any jewel shards and the village has been relatively quiet. Sango and Miroku will be back tomorrow and we can start traveling again."

"But I'm so bored!" He went over to her pack and began to dig through it. "I don't see any games or anything! Just books and clothes!" HE dug a little farther and pulled out some treats he found and began munching on them.

"Oi, brat! Don't just take stuff!"

Shippo held his head from where Inuyasha's fist had made contact. "KAGOOOMEEEE!"

"Inuyasha! SIT!"

Whump.

"Remember the talk we had about hitting Shippo for no good reason?"

Inuyasha snarled back. "Remember the talk we had about Shippo turning into a thieving wimp other demons will eat for lunch if he doesn't shape up? And it WAS a good reason. He was stealing from you."

Kagome rubbed her temples again, hoping the pain would go away soon. "He wasn't stealing. I brought the food for all of us." She turned her gaze to the kit and frowned at him sternly. "Though you know that you need to ask before you take things, Shippo. It isn't polite to go through other people's belongings."

"I'm sorry, Kagome."

The magic let Inuyasha loose, but he decided to stay where he was at. It wasn't every day the kit got a scolding from Kagome. It was worth the sitting. Though it did worry him that she seemed to be in pain. Another headache. He couldn't wait until her schooling was finished. Then maybe the headaches would go away for good.

Kagome sighed.

"I need you to do me a favor, Shippo." Anxious to get back into her good graces, he immediately agreed. "I need you to find me three smallish stones. Make sure that they look very different from each other. They need to be special."

"Why?"

She smiled. "For a game."

With a shout of joy, Shippo ran from the hut and hollered that he would be back soon. Inuyasha sat up and stretched.

"We gonna throw stones at the brat?"

Kagome actually giggled. He smiled, glad to hear her laugh. As her attention turned to the door, Inuyasha took her book and tossed it back in her bag. Maybe he could go out and bury the thing and she could just forget about traveling back to the future. Too bad this _graduation_ thing seemed so important to her. _And_ her family. He shivered as he remembered the look her mother had given him when he suggested she just quit school. Not even Naraku was THAT scary.

"No, of course not."

Inuyasha was slightly disappointed. It would have been a good dodging exercise for the kit. And, to be honest, he'd really REALLY like to throw something at that trouble maker. Boredom was turning him into an ornery demon. Worse than usual.

"Okay, let's go find a spot."

He didn't know what she was talking about, but he followed her out of the hut. She waved to villagers who called her name. Of course his name was never called, not unless it was Kaede. It never really bothered him, but it always bothered Kagome. She would smile and wave, and only Inuyasha could hear the things she said under her breath. It always made him smile. He would be that people didn't even know that Kagome even KNEW some of those words. There was no way that he was admitting that he could hear her either. She might stop!

Along their walk, Kagome would touch leaves and trees, occasionally breaking something off to play with it. Inuyasha was conflicted. On one hand, she was leaving a nice easy trail for Shippo to follow to find them. On the other hand, she was leaving a nice easy trail for ANYONE (including wimpy smelly flea bitten wolves) to find.

Maybe when the kit was older and more skilled he'd worry about it. He knew that he could keep Kagome safe from the annoying wolves. When Shippo gets older and becomes a better tracker, then maybe he'd teach Kagome how to not leave a trail.

"Here we go," she announced as they found a large clearing. "Now we need to find a nice sharp rock to use."

"I thought Shippo was getting the rocks."

"He's getting different rocks."

It didn't make any sense, but he figured she knew what she was talking about. So he poked around looking like he was looking for a rock.

"What do you need the rock for?"

She paused her searching and looked over at him. "To make a circle in the ground."

"Is this a game with magic?"

Kagome sat back and laughed. It was difficult to contain his own smile. His ears twitched as he picked up Shippo's voice yelling her name. Her pathetic hearing hadn't picked it up yet. Inuyasha almost felt sorry for her. Her sense of hearing, sight, and smell were all so weak and pathetic. He knew, since once a month he was human too. It felt like he was he was half blind with a clogged up nose and ears. It was horrible! And poor Kagome had to live her whole life like that. He wished she could experience things the way he could.

His eyes lit up as a thought occurred to him. Could he make a wish for Kagome when they completed the jewel, instead of for himself?

"Magic? No. But you just gave me a great idea. I'll just use one of my arrows to draw with instead of a rock. Thanks Inuyasha!"

She grinned at him. He pictured her smile with slightly pointer canines. She reached into her quiver for an arrow and he pictured claws instead of fingernails. She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she walking in a large circle and he pictured her with ears like his on top of her head. Would it be too cruel and selfish of him to wish for her to be like him?

Finishing the main circle didn't take long. Then she started cutting smaller sections into the earth and writing within them. Inuyasha watched her work. He stayed quiet and allowed himself to play a game of his own. Kagome called it the 'what if' game. What if he did make the wish? What if she did say yes? What if they were both hanyous? Or could he wish for them to both be demons? Nah, she wouldn't like that. She'd probably still want to at least be partially human. Shippo entered the clearing and jumped into her arms. So he let himself continue to play his 'what if' game. What if that was a different child jumping into her arms?

He shook those thoughts out of his head. Those were dangerous thoughts. He definitely shouldn't be thinking _those_ thoughts. At least not in the middle of the day with Kagome only a few feet away!

"What this for?" asked Shippo.

Kagome made one last mark after transferring the kit to her shoulder. This is our game board. See how I made all these little sections inside the big circle?"

"Uh huh. You put numbers in them."

"Yes, I put a number in thirteen of the spaces. In these six other spaces I wrote the word TRAP. For this game, we each get our own special rock. Then we toss them into each space. You start by throwing your rock into the space marked 1. Then you take it and toss it into space number 2. Then 3, and so on until you reach the 13th space. If it lands on one of the TRAP spaces then you lose a turn. The game is called Scullzee."

"Who wins?" asked the kit.

"Whoever gets to the 13th space first."

Shippo dug into his pockets and pulled out three stones. "Will these work?"

Kagome picked up the stones and smiled gently at him. Inuyasha could feel the ugly feeling of jealousy as she gave the kid that smile. He tried to stamp down the emotion before he blew up at the little demon. That was a sure way to end the game prematurely.

"They are just perfect!" She gave the green colored one to Shippo and the smooth black stone to Inuyasha, and kept the smaller broken rock for herself.

"No! That one's Inuyasha's!"

"Huh?"

"It's mean and broken and ugly, just like Inuyasha."

"Shippo!" Kagome scolded. "That's a horrible thing to say. Apologize!"

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha," he said contritely. Then just low enough for only the dog demon to hear, he said, "I'm sorry you're mean and broken and ugly."

Inuyasha clenched his fist to pound the kid on the head. He really was getting more obnoxious. Green eyes flashed at him with a violent emotion as Inuyasha raised his fist. That stopped him. It was an emotion he knew. In fact, it was an emotion that was so overwhelming that he never knew quite what to do with it.

Jealousy.

So… the kit was jealous huh?

Inuyasha lowered his fist and smiled. Then he opened his other palm, the one that held Kagome's stone. Looking as pleasant as possible, he held it out to her like a gift.

"Here's your stone, Kagome."

Shippo's little growl amused him, which spurred him on to try to look more pleasant. It felt weird, but he could feel the irritation radiating off of the kitsune. Who knew that the best way to get back at the bratty little kit was to be extra nice to Kagome? Oddly enough, however, she didn't take the stone he was trying to give her. She looked at it thoughtfully, then clasped the one she held in her hand closer to her chest and took a step back.

"No, that's ok. I'll use this one."

"But…"

"its fine, Inuyasha." She shook off whatever sad thoughts she looked to be having and turned back to the game. "Okay, the youngest goes first. So go ahead and throw your rock, Shippo."

Shippo stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha, then threw the rock. It hit the 1 space then skidded out of the circle.

"Oh, nice try Shippo."

"You threw it too hard, brat."

"I MISSED!"

Kagome gave him a pat on the head as she moved to throw her own rock. Inuyasha watched as she carefully weighed the rock and calculated the distance. Then she threw it slowly with a wide arc. It hit inside the line, and rolled once into dead center.

"What the…?"

"I believe," she said with a smirk, "That the expression you meant to say was, 'Nice shot, Kagome'."

It was a nice shot.

"Keh."

Inuyasha rubbed his thumb over the smooth stone. Did Shippo choose it as hers because it was pretty? Or because it was relatively flawless? Or to point out just how different she was from Inuyasha? Shippo shouldn't have bothered. He knew that he was too broken for her. Too mean. She deserved someone more like her. Someone good. Someone nice. Someone perfect. Someone who deserved a stone as flawless as the one Shippo intended for her.

He threw the stone.

It hit dead center, then rolled out of the space and continued rolling and bouncing for several feet. Shippo laughed and Kagome hid her grin.

Shippo was up again. This time his throw barely made it into the circle, but it was close enough to count. Kagome once again hit the center with her ugly broken stone. Inuyasha's rolled just outside of the line, even though he threw it much more gently that time. He swore at it. What he didn't understand was Kagome's smile whenever the stone would roll away.

Shippo began concentrating hard on the stone and how it was thrown. He landed in the TRAP space twice, Inuyasha only hit it once. Annoyingly, Kagome hit every space in order. She was on 12 before Inuyasha even got to 7. More annoyingly was that Shippo was only once space behind him.

Kagome threw her stone one last time, and landed on the 13. She smiled as she went to retrieve her stone.

The game was much more difficult than Inuyasha thought it would be. He would have to make sure to allow Shippo to talk him into playing it on days when Kagome was gone. It would be a good skill for the kit to improve.

"You cheated!" accused Inuyasha.

She simply shook her head and grinned. Tossing her rock up in the air she gave a giggle. "I just had a better rock."

"What?" asked Shippo, astonished at her explanation. "That ugly thing?"

"Yup." She dropped down where she could almost hug her knees so that she was eye level with the little fox demon. Then she showed him the stone. "These sharp edges and broken edge make it just perfect. It doesn't roll because of the flat edge where it was broken and the edges dig into the dirt. So it stays pretty close to where I throw it." She tousled his hair and stands back up. "The rough edges are what make it perfect," she told them, though she was looking at Inuyasha with eyes that literally were sparkling. "And I wouldn't trade it."

He gulped.

Shippo shrugged and told them he was going to see if the others had come back yet so he could teach the game to Kirara. Kagome left with him, moaning about getting back to her homework assignment. And Inuyasha…

Inuyasha sat back and played the 'what if' game some more.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Notes:

Scullzee is an actual game, I didn't make it up. I found it in a book about sidewalk chalk games.

Here are the rules: Make a game board using chalk. Section it off using the numbers one through thirteen (make sure they are NOT in order) as well as a couple of Trap Zone spaces. Toss rocks or bottle caps to toss into each space. You have to make the rock land in order. First one, then two, then three… If you land in the Trap Zone, then you lose a turn.


	12. Picture of Perfection

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

The Picture of Perfection

"...Kagome...?"

"MMph..."

"...Kagome, darling."

This time the soft voice was accompanied by a gentle touch on her shoulder. Kagome grudgingly cracked open an eye and peered at the fuzzy image of her mother. Then she saw the clock and groaned before squeezing her eyes shut, turning her face into the pillow, and trying to burrow under.

"Mooooom," she complained in a muffled voice, "It's two in the morning."

"Yes, dear, it is."

Suddenly Kagome's eyes popped open and she was wide awake, adrenaline flooding her veins.

"What's wrong? Are you ok? Is it Souta? Grandpa? What's wrong?" She jumped to her feet and dashed towards the door. Her fingers reach the doorknob when she hears Inuyasha curse from the kitchen. Inuyasha? Her mother's hand kept the door closed as Kagome turned that handle to yank it open. What was Inuyasha doing here? It took her brain a few moments to remember that he had come to fetch her after dinner, but she had been exhausted and had fallen asleep at the kitchen table. She vaguely remembered him mumbling something about wasting time... though he hadn't exactly forced her back. In fact, she was almost certain that he was the one who carried her upstairs.

"Everyone is fine, dear," her mother said as she kept her hand on the door.

Kagome let go of the handle and narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she turned to face her mother. If everything was fine, why was she awake? Putting her hand to her heart she willed it to stop beating so hard as she took a deep calming breath. "Sooooo...?" she prompted.

"Inuyasha has taken a liking to one of your old games." Her mother's voice was pleasant. No one should be that sweet sounding at two o'clock in the morning. It wasn't fair. "Perhaps you should let him know that he is welcome to play it again tomorrow."

In other words, stop making such a racket and let people sleep!

"I'll talk to him," Kagome grumbled as she opened the door, grabbing her robe and throwing it on she stumbled out of her room. Two o'clock in the morning. What was wrong with him? If they were still in the past it wouldn't have been unusual to see him up at all hours patrolling. But here, in her home, he always relaxed. She couldn't count how many times she had found him asleep on her bed after she got home from school. She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. Then again, she has also seen him so addicted to a video game that it took three 'sits' to get him to pry his eyes from the screen. THREE!

Tic tic tic tic tic tic TIC TIC TIC TIC CRASH!

Kagome jumped and cried out. Inuyasha peeked his head out around the corner of the kitchen doorway with wide concerned eyes.

"Kagome?"

"It is two o'clock in the morning, Inuyasha... people are trying to sleep." She felt bad when his ears drooped. Her fingers twitched. It was difficult to keep from stroking them reassuringly. "We can play in the morning."

"Can we take it with us?"

"Huh?"

"For Shippo."

Kagome tied the sash on her robe as she sat across the table from her hanyou. She helped him pick up the pieces that were now scattered across the table. He held out his hand for the odd shaped pieces and she dropped them in his waiting palm. "You want to take this game back to the past? To Shippo?"

"That's what I said, wench."

She gave him a glare, but was too tired to scold him for being rude. "Why?"

"Wait wait. Here!" He quickly dumped the pieces back out of the tray and pressed it down then started bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously. The timer started. "Go! Go! Put the pieces into the slot. Make the right selection."

Good heavens! Was he actually singing the jingle? He shoved a moon shaped piece in her hand and moved it to the moon shaped slot. She glanced up at him quizzically. When she dropped it in, he gave her a nod of approval. He put another piece in her hand. She looked at the familiar circle Perfection piece blankly. He kept singing the jingle and nudging her arm, so she dropped that piece in as well.

"Hurry, Kagome," he said with a hint of panic in his voice, "Time is running out, you have twenty three more pieces to go!"

"Inuyasha..."

CRASH!

Kagome jumped on reflex as the timer ran out and ray popped up, scattering the two whole pieces she had placed in.

Inuyasha sighed, then pat her on the head a little sadly. "You'll do better next time."

It was late, or early... depending on how a person looks at it, and she was tired. Though she would be perfectly happy playing the game with him in the morning (meh, afternoon, she deserved to sleep in), she didn't understand why he just HAD to play with the stupid thing in the middle of the night. She didn't realize she voiced her thoughts until Inuyasha answered her.

"Its good training. It'll help his speed, his thinking skills, logic, dexterity, and the ability to work under pressure!"

Kagome was impressed by his logic. Though it sounded an awful lot like he was quoting someone. "Yeah?"

"The kid was telling me about it." The kid. Must be talking about her brother. Now that she thought about it, Inuyasha's speech sounded suspiciously like the one Souta used to convince his mother that playing video games was essential to his development. At least he showed him a game that didn't require it to be plugged in. "You should play it, too."

Feeling her good humor return a little, she teased him. "Are you saying I'm illogical and slow?"

Sensing a trap, Inuyasha stilled. His mouth, which had opened on instinct to say 'yes', snapped shut. Obviously his brain kicked in before his mouth started working. It was a rare sight to see. When he opened his mouth again, he was speaking a little slower, and was watching her carefully. "What I'm saying is that every day we get closer to finding Naraku. And when we do, Shippo will need to be fast. Naraku isn't going to go easy on him 'cuz because he's a runt. And since the brat doesn't seem to take any sort of training seriously, I thought that the game could trick him into training."

While he watched her warily, Kagome's insides melted. He was always looking out for them. "It's a good idea, Inuyasha."

His ears perked up, and she couldn't stop her grin. His cheeks turned a shade of pink when he saw her smile. "Feh. I have lots of good ideas. You just never listen."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"We'll take the game to Shippo in the morning."

"We could go now."

She glared at him as she leaned across the table at him. "It is the middle of the night, Inuyasha. Does it LOOK like I'm ready to go now?"

He gulped and looked at her, and his eyes softened to a golden glow. "You look..." Her heart started pounding and suddenly she was wide awake. "...very..." His hand reached towards her face and she held her breath.

Then he blinked quickly and spun her around to face the door and gave her a little push. "... tired," he finished quickly. "You look very tired. Get some sleep. We'll take the game to Shippo in the morning."

As she hummed the same tune Inuyasha had, she dropped the handful of Perfection pieces in her robe pocket one piece at a time. Smiling to herself at the memory of how he had looked at her, she headed slowly up the stairs. He really was something. Inuyasha was always thinking of them, how best to keep them safe and protected. Even in the middle of the night. Even while playing games. There really wasn't anything she would change about her hanyou.

As far as she was concerned, he was Perfection.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Notes: I haven't given up on this collection of one shots. It just took awhile for inspiration to hit. The next chapter is in the sketches stage.

Disclaimer Part II: Perfection does not belong to me either. It belongs to the Milton Bradley Company.


	13. Shot Through the Heart

Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Shot Through the Heart

Dead.

They were all dead.

First went that annoying brat who was trying to peek at Kagome in ways he was not allowed to peek at Kagome. Watching him fall was very satisfying actually. Second to go was Kagome's grandfather. Mostly just because he was annoying and always trying to banish him from the house with spells that never worked. Oh! The noises he made when he was hit! Talk about loud. Third was that kid with the whiny voice who kept complaining about every little thing.

Souta could use some less annoying friends.

It was tough to do, and he hated even thinking about it, but Kagome's mother was next. She was RIGHT THERE! He had no choice really, he had to do it. He did think twice about it though.

Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

Every single one of them.

Inuyasha looked down at the gun in his hand. Well, not every single one. Kagome was still out there. She was armed, and doing her best to take him down. Her last shot nearly hit him, but he was faster than she was accurate.

He was impressed with how stealthy she was becoming, even though she was trying to shoot him in the heart. He couldn't help but grin with pride when he saw her leap across the open area, shoot, and duck into a roll. Smoothly she rolled to her feet and ducked into a safe covered area. He could have taken her out then, but felt it would be bad timing. No reason to tarnish her excellent execution of a move with killing her.

When he was first given the gun, he was uncertain he wanted to use it. And he knew he didn't want to use it on Kagome. But the hunting turned out to be more fun than he anticipated. Everyone tended to aim high, probably aiming for the head, but his instincts kept him low to the ground. Without his feet ever leaving the ground he managed to dodge all of their attempts to defeat him.

Even Kagome's.

The flashing lights were a little disorienting, so he kept his eyes closed most of the time. Besides, it would give his miko a sporting chance at survival. His hearing was muted thanks to the cap firmly on his head, but he still had the advantage.

A shot came low from the left, he barely managed to escape it. Kagome was improving her strategy. She was smart. She was learning. She was going to actually kill him if he didn't start taking this a bit more seriously and kill her first.

She had sworn vengeance after he took out her mother. Was it wrong to think that she had never looked so... well... attractive... as when she was standing there in righteous fury?

At first they had yelled at each other as they dodged and attacked. But now they were silent and stealthy. Deadly. They both knew that time was running out. They had been circling closer to one another, in a roundabout way. The end was coming... for one of them. Poor Kagome.

He could feel the vibrations of her steps as she ran. He could hear her breaths coming heavy and fast, though he knew she was reminding herself to be calm and take slow deep breaths. He could hear her whispering to herself. Once more she shot her gun while rolling to safety. It was a good thing she chose to wear those leg coverings, (skin tight, but only fell past the knees) under her skirt.

She was shooting blind though, he knew he was well hidden in the shadows. Also, had she known where he was, she probably wouldn't have chosen to hide behind the wall where he was standing.

Or would she?

Inuyasha smiled as he heard Kagome's breath even out. She DID know where he was! Somehow he just knew it. He took a moment to enjoy the feeling of having Kagome so close to him. He could feel her presence.

His hand tightened on the gun.

He heard Kagome take a slow deep breath, he took one as well. Then he pivoted on the ball of his right foot and took aim.

Looking down he saw Kagome's gun right in the middle of his chest. It was fitting, since his was right in the middle of hers. All they had to do was pull the trigger and it would all be over.

"Inuyasha..."

"Kagome..."

Taking out the others had been easy. Poof, lights out. He placed his hand on top of hers and looked into her eyes. He couldn't... He couldn't' shoot Kagome.

"Do it," he told her.

Tears filled her eyes. "I... I can't..."

He lowered his gun, and his head. She tried to drop the gun, but he wouldn't let her. Instead... he put enough pressure on her hands to trigger the gun.

"Inuuyaaashaaaaaaa!"

He dropped to the floor, she dropped down next to him. She grabbed onto his hand and held it to her chest.

"Why?" she whispered.

Golden eyes warmed as he smiled at her. "If one of us lives... it has to be you."

She smacked him on the chest.

"Hey! You just shot me there!"

"Oh don't be such a baby."

"Awwww..." cried a disappointed voice from above, "I can't believe he let her win."

"I want ice cream," whined another voice.

Inuyasha closed his eyes, the whine piercing his skull. "Try shooting me again. Maybe this time it will work."

Kagome laughed, then stood up and held up her hand. "Come on, let's go get some ice cream before the others eat it all."

Inuyasha took her hand, reluctantly letting it go as he followed her out of the large room/arena. There, coming down the stairs from the observation booth, were the monsters. How did he let Kagome talk him into even coming to this place? Souta's friends jumped up and down and pulled at his hair and clothes asking a million questions, none of which he answered. Brats. He regretted shooting Kagome's mother as soon as she joined them and took them away to the banquet room they had reserved.

"So... laser tag," said Inuyasha as he took off the harness that held the sensors for the game, then helped her off with hers. "Wasn't too bad."

"Nice dramatic death at the end," Kagome smiled up at him. She took his sensors and turned them in to the clerk with her own.

"Feh."

"Thank you for coming to Souta's birthday party. He will be bragging to his friends for months at how incredible you were at that game."

Inuyasha blushed, and turned to hide his grin. "You did pretty good, too. Where did you learn that jump and roll thing?"

"Movies. Hurts more in real life though, I think I'll be bruised for weeks."

She was hurt?

Concerned, he gently took her arms and looked at the skin, checking for bruises. He pulled the tight, yet stretchy, fabric of her legging to look at her knees. Sure enough, knees and elbows were scrapped, and her arms and legs were sure to bruise. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, he should have been more careful. He should have remembered how fragile humans were. He shouldn't have let her play the game.

He opened his eyes to find her glaring at him. He prayed that he didn't say that last part out loud. Kagome didn't like the word "let" sometimes.

"I'm fine. Quit worrying. You have your guilty face on. Stop that. We're here to celebrate and have fun and eat lots of yummy treats."

They went to get some ice cream at the frozen treat stand nearby, then walked around together while Souta and his friends begged his mother for another round of laser tag. The place was noisy and smelly, he would have been long gone if not for Kagome. She made everything tolerable.

"You should have shot me, Inuyasha. You would have won."

He stopped in mid lick of his ice cream cone, the swallowed. He couldn't hurt her... not even playing pretend. "No I couldn't have."

"It is just a game. Electronic signals, I think. It doesn't hurt at all." She laughed. "Unless you start trying to pull some fancy moves by rolling around on a floor. Good thing they don't look like real guns, Mama would never have allowed Souta to play with one of those."

"I just... I couldn't." He took a deep breath. "You didn't shoot me either."

"I..."

"It was just a game. Electronic signals." He wasn't sure what electronic signals were, but if the argument was good enough for her...

She sighed instead of laughed this time. "I just couldn't."

Inuyasha stopped walking and looked down at Kagome. "Your life," his voice was low and rough with emotion, "Your safety, your happiness. Those will always come first, Kagome. Always."

Ask me why, he begged silently.

Then changed his mind. Don't ask me why!

Instead of answering, she bumped her hand against his. He looked down at it, so pale and fragile next to his, then he let his fingers intertwine with his. His hand enveloped hers. The sight sent a wave of protectiveness through him that was staggering.

He cleared his throat, needing to say something. Needing something else to tie their lives together, something else to bring them closer.

"Why wouldn't she let you play with ones that look like real guns?" he asked instead.

He sighed, wishing he had found something more... more SOMETHING.

Kagome squeezed his hand just a little, luckily she did not let go. She watched the kids playing with their fingers pointed and shouting "BANG". Then she told him about what real guns could do, and Inuyasha was horrified. Then he remembered the shows that Souta would beg him to watch with him, and he made the connection about what a gun really was.

He had been letting Kagome go ALONE to this place? On the small screen in her living room they seemed so small and harmless... now their small and easily concealed size made them seem even more dangerous! At least with a sword you see that coming!

Seeing his panic, Kagome immediately started telling him about laws and safety measures and who knows what else. All he knew was that this world was no safer for Kagome than his own. Letting her roam around here alone was no longer an option. In fact, there was only one way that he could be sure that Kagome would always be safe.

He looked down into her eyes, then leaned his head down to touch his forehead to hers, drawing strength from her closeness. From her scent.

He would just have to stay by her side forever... to keep her safe.

oOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOo oOOooOOoo

Laser Tag rules: There are lots of different rules for laser tag. It can be held inside or outside. From what I've read, you strap on sensors (it varies from chest to head) and you try to shoot those sensors with the gun that sends some sort of electronic signal.

Author's Notes:

See, I have not forgotten this story. It just took a while for me to start working on this chapter. I'm batting around other game ideas, but nothing yet that is for certain.

It was interesting reading about how many variations there are of laser tag. I wrote the story based on what I imagine it is like. Sadly, I have never played it. I want to though. Anyone up for a game of laser tag?


End file.
